Price of Fame- Discontinued
by PockyisLife
Summary: From the moment the head of McKinley Records set eyes on Mercedes, Sanatana and Tina, he knew they were going to be stars. Set in 1960s New York. repost under same name
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any song that may appear in the story. I am only using them for entertainment purposes. Please do not sue; I'm a poor college student.**

**Author's note: So... I really should focus on Deja Vu considering that I have the tendency to take a billion years to finish stories, but I couldn't get this idea out of my mind. Thanks to the loveliness that is Pandora, I am obsessed with music from the 1960s, especially Motown songs, so I thought I should make a story about the music business in that time period.**

Chapter One

"Congratulations, Mercedes, Santana and Tina. The three of you passed our very competitive audition process with flying colors. I am proud to say: welcome to McKinley Records. As you may know, we are the most musically diverse record company in the country, hell the world. We represent everything from soul, jazz to rock and roll and folk. You will represent our first all-girl soul group."

If someone told Mercedes Jones that she was going to be in the middle of New York City, sitting in front of the president of one of the biggest record companies in the United States with her two best friends, she might have laughed right in said person's face and walked away

But this was actually happening.

In real life.

She was not hallucinating.

Mercedes Jones was going to be signed to a major label and achieve her dream.

Mercedes did not plan to trek all the way from Lima to New York and practically be dragged to McKinley Records office by a scout. She only came to the Big Apple because she- well, Santana- thought, and rightfully so, that if she wanted any type of stardom, she would either have to go to New York, Hollywood or Europe. There was nowhere in Hell, her mother was going to let her leave the country and Hollywood was completely out of the question.

She could not believe was at McKinley Records. Her dream, a dream that was almost twenty years old- she wanted to be a singer ever since she was four. A dream that she mother said that was never going to come true, along with her pastor and most of her friends. It wasn't that they did not think she was talented; anyone with good ears knew that. It was just that according to everyone but her, each person dreamed big and more times than not, those dreams never happened.

But Mercedes proved them wrong.

She could not wait to call home and tell her folks the good news.

She gave her two band mates, Santana and Tina, a wide grin. It was finally happening. She was going to be a singer- a famous singer with a record label- a well-known record label.

Santana was ecstatic. After all, it was her idea to come to New York in the first place. She gave her two band mates a smug smirk; Yeah, she was good; she expected a very long and sincere 'thank you' from Tina and Mercedes once this meeting was over and a free dinner with a Piña Colada- she liked Piña Coladas.

Oh, maybe two.

Tina tried to hold back her tears; she did not want to ruin her eye makeup and look like a clown in front of her new boss. "Thank you, Mr. Johnson for this opportunity," She replied, voice breaking up. She could not explain how grateful she was. "You do not understand how much this means to us."

"Please, call me Billy. Mr. Johnson makes me appear old. And you're welcome. "

Tina quietly apologized.

Billy Johnson was the president of McKinley Records. He was a rather short, middle-aged man, had a bald spot that he tried and failed to cover up with a toupee- it was the thought that counted. He was a businessman with a good ear for talent and he only allowed the best of the best to join his record company that he literally built from the ground up.

McKinley Records had a very admirable reputation in the music world. Not many companies could boast having singers from every race and every music genre. Heck, he even began signing some soul and rhythm and blues groups- three to be more exact. He wanted to sign more, especially all-male groups but unfortunately, a certain record company in Detroit that he refused to name appeared to be winning that competition.

"You ladies are special. This is the most diverse singing group in the country. A Negro, a Latina and an Asian in one group- never heard of. You three are going to be stars. No, bigger than that, superstars. Everyone will know your name. You will be famous; go the most exclusive parties; go to places you can only dream of. This ladies, is the dream that all inspiring signers dream of. You have been blessed, you hear me, blessed. As long as you do what you are supposed to do and provide the goods, you all will live as queens."

Santana, not impressed because she had heard those same exact words plenty of times before, crossed her arms and scoffed, "Stars? We haven't even made a hit record yet."

Mercedes nudged the Latina with an elbow. That woman needed to learn how to control her mouth before she got all three of them in trouble. She did not travel all this way just to get her dream and job taken away from her.

Billy gave Santana a sharp look. He could already tell that she was going to be a handful. "You are correct Ms. Lopez. You guys are not stars yet but if you do want you are supposed to do; I don't see why that cannot happen."

Tina side glanced Santana.

Yes, so Santana was a bit skeptical. She had her own share of bad experiences with record company presidents always promising but delivering nothing. She supposed she could try this one out, since Billy Johnson was in charge of a legitimate company and not running one out of a basement of a friend of a family friend's cousin's house.

She did not want to talk about that.

Billy leaned back in his chair. He could picture it now. The MST- he was going to need to change that name; it was downright horrifying- was going to have hits after hits after hits. Because come on, Santana can get the Hispanic audience. Mercedes, the black and Tina, the Asian. If they do it right, they could attract the white audience too. "First thing's first, who will be the lead singer?"

The three women looked at Billy. Wasn't it obvious? Mercedes was singing lead throughout the entire audition. Santana and Tina did not even bother trying to challenge that. Mercedes Jones was the lead singer; she was the lead four years ago when the group formed and she was going to be the leader when they became famous not that she hogged the position. Santana was too hotheaded and impatient to do it- she admit that herself. Tina and the spotlight did not get along, at least not yet- Mercedes swore that she was going to make Tina loosen up while performing, even if it killed her.

"Ms. Mercedes Jones," Santana responded. "She is the best singer out of all of us. And you know that's true when I am willing to admit that because I know I can sing."

Tina shook her head. "Way to stay humble."

Santana shrugged. "I'm trying my best."

"Mercedes," Billy asked. "Is that true?"

"Yes sir."

"Well then, it's settled. You will be given a tour today. You have some free time until tomorrow morning. The first week is what I like to refer to as 'hell week.' It is very important that the three of you retain every bit of information you will learn during this week. You won't be able to go to the studio until next week- hopefully by then, you will be groomed into real singers."

And with that, Billy Johnson paged his secretary to bring in the vice president. He let out a deep breath. "Have you made up name for the group? I do not want to sound mean but MST is not very attractive. Good bands have good, catchy names."

Tina gave Mercedes and Santana a dirty look; this was exactly what she said during that god-awfully long bus ride to New York. But no, Mercedes said it was not a big deal and Santana was too busy complaining about the lack of heat to even care.

"We are working on that," Mercedes responded, feeling a bit guilty. The trio had been together for seven years and they still could not create a name that wasn't their initials.

"What about 'The Limettes?' We are from Lima and it's catchy."

Santana and Mercedes exchanged horrified looks.

"The Limettes?" Santana asked as if it was the most ridiculous name she had ever heard. "Come on, we can be more creative than that. I love Lima and all, but really? That's a lame name."

"It's not that bad," Mercedes countered. "And we can change it later, right?"

"Right," Billy nodded in agreement. It wasn't the best name but it was certainly better than MST. "It's settled. You three will be known as the Limettes. I will make sure that my assis- Ah, Emma! Just the person I wanted to see."

"Hello, Mr. Johnson," Emma said smiling as she walked inside the office. She stopped to straighten out her pink floral dress then faced the Limettes. "And you three must be the new girl group."

The Limettes did not know what to say.

Emma extended her hand but instantly put it at her side- she just washed her hands- and said in welcoming voice, "Hello, my name is Emma Pillsbury. I am the vice president of McKinley Records. If you need any help or any questions feel free to ask me." She straightened up her posture and folded her hands. "It will be advisable to ask me first if you need to ask Johnson anything. He doesn't like when people ask him arbitrary questions."

Emma Pillsbury was the vice president of McKinley Records- an amazing feat. She was one of the only female executives in the music business. She worked her butt off for that position and because of this, she took everything seriously. Some claimed that Emma was too intense and liked to take things to another level. To her, she was just doing her job.

Santana was not impressed; Emma looked more like a housewife than a vice president.

"That is not true."

Emma Pillsbury gave her boss a look and continued, "Now come on, I will give you a tour of the McKinley Records headquarters."

Emma wasted no time talking about the record company when the ladies left Billy's office. She was excited about the new addition. This was the first time McKinley had a girl group that sang soul and rhythm blues; the rest of the girl groups did pop.

"I like how you three color-coded your outfits. It's really neat."

The Limettes wore matching red dresses, matching shoes and matching hairstyles. Santana thought the idea was tacky; they weren't triplets for heaven's sake, but Tina insisted that they were a group and therefore had to dress as such. Mercedes thought the idea was cute and so did Billy. Actually, that was the first thing he said to the girl group when they walked in his office.

"I like the whole- attire matching thing you girls have going on. It's cute; you look like a cohesive girl group. Not one person standing out."

Santana had wanted to mention that all members of the Limettes were in their twenties and should no longer be referred to as "girls" but from the warning look she received from Mercedes, she held back her temptations.

"Thank you," the Limettes said in unison.

Emma stopped and faced the girl group. She cleared her throat and clutched her clipboard tightly. "We have some rules and regulations. One: remember that as a member of McKinley Records, you represent us and only us. Please do not embarrass us or do anything that will harm the reputation of the record company. Also, please, do not engage any kind of relationship that is not approved by the record company and this especially includes having any relationships with other acts. I understand this sounds a bit... harsh, but you are now public figures that the newspapers love when public figures mess things up."

Emma gave the trio a small smile before leading them down the hall. "Let me introduce some main actors in the company. As you may already know, Billy Johnson is the president and I am the vice president. Since you do not have a manager as of right now, we will serve as such until you find one. It is highly advisable that all issues you have be addressed to either Billy or me. We have different people in charge of different things. Sue Sylvester is in charge of the whi-," Emma cleared her throat. She wanted to be as politically correct as possible. "Pop girl groups. Do you know the Cheerios?"

"Isn't that a type of cereal?"

Tina laughed.

Emma looked at Santana as if the Latina just insulted her mother. "Yes, but they are also our top girl group in the company. They had three number hits this year and it's only February. Anyway, I highly advise you to stay clear from Sue, she can kind of be a- what's the word- intense."

"You mean she's a bitch?"

Emma's eyes widened as her jaw dropped. She could not believe Santana would say something like that. Granted, she might be right but Emma was certainly not the type of person who would use profanity to describe a person, let alone a coworker.

"Well, I don't-"

"You have to mind Santana; she isn't the most eloquent speaker," Mercedes cut in, glaring at her friend. Santana, in turn, rolled her eyes and mumbled something inaudible under her breath. Mercedes sighed; it looked like she needed to have a little talk with the Latina. "As you were saying?"

Emma cleared her throat and glanced at her note pad. "Right…William Shuester is the voice coach. You will be seeing him at least three times a week- just to make sure your voices are in tune. The last thing you want is to record with an unbalance voice. Mike Chang is the dance coach." Emma smiled. "He is the best dancer if I ever met and I have seen some good dancers. Of course Sue does not think so because she has some weird belief that Asians can't dance. Then again, she thinks her Cheerios can legitimately sing jazz and soul, so her opinion should not matter much."

The Limettes followed Emma as continued her tour and descriptions of some people working at McKinley. Mercedes was really the only one paying attention. Tina and Santana lagged behind; Santana could careless who was the photographer and the mailman. Tina was too tired from all the excitement to walk at Emma's extremely fast pace.

"Are your folks still having a heart attack?"

Tina groaned.

She was not supposed to be in New York. Her parents did not approve of her dream to be a singer. They wanted her to push thought aside and strive for a more reasonable career like being a nurse or a teacher. Tina was currently not on her parents' good side especially after dropping out of college just to go on a cross country trip with her friends to achieve a dream that was downright near impossible.

It was selfish of her. She knew he parents were worried sick about her. A part of her wanted to drop everything and go back home and enroll for the next semester at Ohio State but she could not let Mercedes and Santana down. They spent a lot of money and time to be in the position they were in. It would be foolish to halt everything just because of her parents.

Tina called home as soon as she reached New York. Her parents, as expected, were infuriated. Her father did not want to speak to her. Her mother went on a thirty minute lecture about how ungrateful Tina was- this was said in English- and then switched to Chinese to give her daughter a litany of threats. Tina felt bad; her mother preferred speaking English so she could get better at it. She only spoke Chinese when she was furious.

Tina told her parents she loved them and everything would be fine before hanging up.

That was two days ago.

She tried to reach them again this morning at the hotel, but they did not answer.

Tina bowed her head and sighed. "I don't I can talk to them until we get a song on a Top Ten List; only then they can't stay that I was a failure."

Santana pulled Tina into a huge hug- something she did not do frequently but her friend looked like she was going to bring out the waterworks. "Don't worry about it Tina; this is going to work out. I promise. We did not travel a hundred miles on a freezing bus, walk three miles in these uncomfortable-as-hell shoes, while getting hit on by some hobos, just for our music careers to fail."

Mercedes, who was now only half paying attention to Emma, looked back and gave Tina a sympathetic smile.

"Kurt Hummel will be your stylist. You cannot miss him. He's very uh… flamboyant. Don't worry, unlike some other stylists who think they are gods; he actually lets you choose your wardrobe. He's a sweetheart. You will like him very much." Emma stopped in front of a door. "This is the studio," she announced, pointing at the door sign. "This is the most important room in the whole building. It is where the magic happens. The producer is Noah Puckerman; he may be a bit...um, he has his ways with words." She gave Santana a noted look. "But he's good at what he does. If everything goes according to plan, you will be able to start recording by the middle of next week."

"Can we go in?" Santana asked.

Emma peered through the mini window and slightly frowned. Noah was still working with New Directions? He had been with them since them since eight this morning. She shook her head and said regrettably, "I wanted you to meet him but it looks like he's still working with one of our bands. I do not know why. He was supposed to be done at noon." She looked down at her watch. "That was fours ago. Billy will be hearing about this."

Santana cursed.

"It's okay. I'm sure they are doing something important," Mercedes reasoned. "We can still him later?"

"I suppose," Emma replied, slightly glaring at the door. "Anyway, Puck will be very happy to meet you three. I have to warn you though, he can be a bit flirtatious and crass." Emma did not notice Mercedes and Tina smirking at Santana who only rolled her eyes. "But you are the only soul group in here. He can finally do something different."

"You don't have male soul groups?"

"We do but only one; they're currently on tour in Europe. We have three last year but that record company, which shall not be named, is taking all of the bands from us and other companies and shipping them to Detroit."

"What- shall not be named...?"

"Oh, she means Mo-"

Emma stopped. "The record company in Detroit cannot be named in the walls of McKinley Records. It brings ill feelings to everyone here."

"Damn, we should have gone to Detroit. Mo-" Santana whispered to Tina but stopped herself when Emma narrowed her eyes. "You know what, is making all of the groups famous. And it's a hell of a lot closer."

"You're the one who insisted that we come to New York," Tina hissed, becoming a bit annoyed. "You didn't mention anything about Detroit."

"Santana, stop complaining. Be grateful we even have this opportunity."

Santana rolled her eyes at Mercedes. "I am grateful. I was just saying."

Mercedes wished she could duct tape Santana's mouth and only take it off when they were in the studio.

Emma did not bother replying to Santana's statement. "You will be given a schedule tomorrow morning. You are to be here by seven am tomorrow so that you can meet up with our trainer, Shannon Beiste." She paused while checking out the Limettes physiques, namely Mercedes. "I think the workout session will benefit all three of you very much. In this business appearance is everything." Emma said before walking away.

Santana crossed her arms and glared at Emma's retreating form. "What the hell is that supposed to be mean?"

She said it loud enough for Emma to hear.

Mercedes groaned. The duct tape idea was getting more appealing by the second.

"It's just a suggestion," Tina mumbled, sending Mercedes a wary glance. "She is not calling us fat."

"Santana, please don't start," Mercedes pleaded before smiling widely at Emma. She did not like what the vice president was implying either. She thought the Limettes looked fine. Sure she could benefit losing a few pounds, but Tina and Santana did not need to shed one more ounce. "We will be there at 6:59 am."

"That's what I like to here," Emma replied, not before glowering at the very outspoken Limette. "Remember, you are only as good as you allow yourselves to be. If you want to be the best, you need to put in your best effort. I'm not going to lie to you and say that the music business is a walk in the park. Doing would only be deceitful. The benefits will only start coming in when you become successful, make a few hits and become a household name. Until then, you're not very important."

The Limettes did not say anything else as they followed the vice president to their next destination.

**I hope you enjoyed the first chapter: D**

**This is a Samcedes story. Sam and others will be introduced in the second chapter. The pairings will be relatively cannon- well, canon as of season one to three. I want to make this story as realistic to the time period as I can; if there is anything that does not relate to the decade, please by all means, tell me- I will be extremely grateful. And please don't be shy and tell me what you think. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any song that may appear in the story. I am only using them for entertainment purposes. Please do not sue; I'm a poor college student.**

**Chapter Two**

"You can't exercise in a dress," Santana pointed out as the Limettes walked into McKinley Records lobby. They were early- too early in Santana and Tina's opinion. Mercedes insisted that they arrived at least fifteen minutes early to impress whoever was going to meet them. Tina, although not a morning person, agreed but it was mostly because Mercedes literally had to drag her out of bed.

Mercedes gave Santana a dirty look. "Thank you, for stating the obvious."

Mercedes did not have anything to wear for any type of physical activity. She only brought three dresses with her- a fancy one to impress McKinley's executives which she believed was an absolute success, a casual dress and a Sunday dress for church. She did not think about bringing anything else; once the money started rolling in from the music sales, she could buy more clothes.

"I'm just saying," Santana replied. "The way Emma made it sound, we are going to be in for one hell of a ride."

"Why do we have to work out?" Tina whined, rubbing her eyes. She forgot her cup of coffee. "At this ungodly time?"

Tina wore her sleeping clothes- she was glad she brought a shirt and a pair of shorts instead of her usual night gown. Santana wore her old high school gym clothes that she accidentally packed instead of a swim suit.

"Because we have to. Now stop that complaining before someone hears us."

"You need to stop being paranoid."

Mercedes was going to retort but stopped when she saw the vice president walked out of the elevators. She gave Santana a look before facing Emma with a smile on her face. "Hello, Miss Pillsbury," she called out, getting the vice president's attention.

Tina and Santana mumbled their hellos.

Emma Pillsbury was pleasantly surprised to see the Limettes arrive at McKinley Records at 6:48 am. She liked this. They were punctual. There had been many times when certain groups who she would not name would show fifteen minutes late because they thought they could due to their success.

She smiled widely as the girl group approached her. "Good morning," she said, trying not to sound as if all she wanted to do was curl up in her bed and stay in it for the rest of the night. She only had three hours of sleep thanks to a midnight visit from a certain manager who requested- more like demanded- that only certain samples should be given to the Cheerios not the Limettes. Why Sue thought that she could just show up at her apartment and demand something like that was beyond her. "I am glad that you all arrived early. Shows commitment."

The Limettes returned the greeting; they all looked just as tired as the vice president. But who could blame them? They were too excited about the music opportunity to have a proper night's rest.

Emma opened her folder and handed each woman a sheet of paper. "This is the schedule for the day. First you will meet up with Shannon Beiste, our trainer. After you refresh yourselves, you will meet up with the voice coach then the dancer instruction. Following this, you will meet up with Kurt. If everything goes according to plan, I will meet with you at three to discuss the rest of today's schedule. Any questions?"

When the Limettes did not reply, Emma smiled and led them to the gym. "This is the gym. Ms. Beiste should arrive shortly. Have a nice time and please, by all means, break a sweat. We need to make those bodies tip-top shape."

With that she gave them one last smile before leaving.

Mercedes groaned; she did not sign up for this.

At the other side of the hallway, Sue Sylvester, the manager of the amazing and extremely successful Cheerios, took an angry bite of her toast before throwing the rest in the garbage can. She narrowed her eyes and marched towards the Limettes as soon as Emma left- she would deal with the vice president later. She didn't want to see them but she had to make her presence known and give them a firm warning about who ran things in this company. When she reached them, the Limettes turned to look at her- well up at her. This was one of the benefits of being taller than some men.

Because Sue was brought up to be a respectable woman even in the presence of potential rivals, she decided to introduce herself. This was an honor. "My name is Sue Sylvester; that's short for your worst nightmare if you dare cross my path. I am the manager of the Cheerios, though I should really be the vice president for this record company but that's another story."

"Hello," Mercedes spoke up because it didn't seem that Santana or Tina wanted to take that offer. "My name is Mercedes Jones. This is Santana and Tina. We are the Limettes. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Sue was taken aback. She definitely should not be a pleasure to meet. She wanted to intimidate the Limettes. "Wow, you can speak proper English? I thought your people were incapable of doing such things."

Steam was coming out of Mercedes' ears. Tina, always the pacifist, rubbed Mercedes' hand to calm her down. She frowned at Sue. "Was that necessary?"

"I was only expressing my shock." Sue looked down at Tina, who was significantly shorter than her. "Hello, you must be Slanted Eyes."

"Excuse me?"

"You are excused, dear." Sue smirked and narrowed her eyes. "Billy wasn't kidding about the diversity. All you need is an Arab and an Indian and your little multicultural group will be complete."

"Do you mean a person from India or a Native American?"

Tina elbowed Mercedes. It took a lot for Santana not to laugh.

"You need to watch your mouth, young lady. I don't have time or patience for people who speak to their superiors with an attitude."

Mercedes opened her mouth bur closed it when she noticed Sue was not paying attention. Instead she cocked her head to the gym door that the Limettes could use as an escape route.

"Sue, don't you have anything else to do than taunt people?"

Sue looked over the Limettes- they were all shorter than her- to see the exercise instructor approaching the group. She rolled her eyes. Why did someone always have to show up when she was in intimidation mode? She needed to force the Limettes out of the music business by using fear tactics.

"Hello, She-Hulk. I see the testosterone therapy is going wonderfully. You're looking more and more like a man each day."

"Thank you, and the devil look is looking splendid on you."

Santana was glaring at Sue the entire time. If this was what Sue acted like, she couldn't wait to meet the Cheerios.

"I'll take that as a compliment." Sue scowled; she gave the Limettes one last glare before leaving. "This is not the last you've seen of Sue Sylvester. Leave this label while you can." She stopped to shake her head at Mercedes. "And you, I highly suggest you lay off the milkshakes before you explode."

Mercedes narrowed her eyes.

"Do not listen to Sue," Shannon said when she reached the Limettes. "Sue is known for trying to scare off new people. Hello. My name is Shannon Beiste. I'm your exercise coach; you ladies must be the Limettes."

The Limettes faced Shannon. Well, she looked more... masculine than most women. Maybe the gossip had some credit- it was rumored that Shannon Beiste was secretly an ex-Olympian from East Germany who loaded up on steroids. But she did seem nice- at least a lot nicer than Sue.

"Hello," the girl group said in unison.

Shannon glanced at Mercedes. "There aren't many physical activities you can do in a dress. Do you have any other clothes?"

Mercedes shrugged. "There's only so many things I can pack in a suitcase. This is the closest thing to gym clothes I have."

Santana shook her head in shame.

"We will figure something out," Shannon said, before leading the Limettes inside the gym. "Now, Billy insisted that I keep you guys in shape and so help me God that's what I'm going to do. Although this is your first session, I'm not going to be easier on you."

The Limettes glanced at each other as the slowly walked inside the gym. What did they get themselves into?

* * *

At ten, Emma decided that since the Limettes did not know where the gym was, there was a big chance that they did not know where they need to practice their vocals. Therefore, she took it upon herself to show it to them personally. And no, it had nothing to do with the fact that she did not see the voice instructor in three days- no, not at all.

She waited outside of the ladies' changing rooms. She saw the Limettes walking- more like crawling- out of the gym, drenched with sweat. She told Shannon to take it easy since this was their first session- it looked like she did not listen.

Inside the changing room, the Limettes slowly but surely refreshed themselves and changed their clothes.

"This is why I hate exercising," Santana grumbled, walking out of the showers. "I can't feel my legs."

"How do you think I feel?" Mercedes shot back, trying to put her arm through the dress sleeves without feeling any soreness- it wasn't working too well. "I don't think I'll be able to move out my bed tomorrow."

"Unfortunately, that's not an option," Tina said, combing out her hair. She was going to reach for the hairspray but Santana got a hold on the can first. "We have to see Shannon five times a week. At seven in the morning."

Mercedes groaned. Of course they had to see Shannon all those days, she thought after finally being able to put both arms through the sleeves. There should be no reason why she was this sore.

"This is going to suck," Santana grumbled as she sprayed hairspray all over her hair. Mercedes had to snatch the can before her friend used it all up. She needed some too and Tina needed the most of them all.

"Welcome to the real world." Mercedes said. She would worry about exercising tomorrow morning. Even with the workout session from Hell, Mercedes was in good spirits. She could not wait to get into the studio and do what she was destined to do- sing. "Also, any suggestions about our new name? I hope the Limettes don't stick."

"I strongly agree. It sucks. I feel disgusted just thinking about it."

"Stop exaggerating."

"Oh, we can be like Martha and the Vandellas," Tina suggested. "We can be Mercedes and the Limas."

"You are no longer a part of the naming committee." Santana snapped, shaking her head. "The Limas? Really? Why do you think that's okay?"

Tina pouted.

"No reason to be mean about it."

"We should just keep Limettes for the time being," Mercedes continued before Santana could protest. "Just for the time being. And anyway, every girl group and their mama's name end with 'ettes.'"

"She has a point." Tina said, putting on her dress. They all were wearing different dresses. Santana requested, no demanded, that the Limettes would only dress alike during their performances because she was tired of looking like other people. Mercedes and Tina agreed just to keep the Latina's mouth shut. "And hurry up ladies; we need to meet Mr. Shuester in ten minutes. We can't be late."

"I don't see why we need to see a voice coach," Santana said. "We already know how to sing. We we're damn good at it. That's why we're here. I think it's a waste of time."

"Santana, can I just have one hour without you questioning everything? Be grateful for once." Mercedes asked, becoming irritated of her band mate's complaining. Mercedes did not think Santana was ungrateful. She was Santana. This was how Santana operated; she was loud, rash and pretty much did not care who she was talking to- she was going to voice her opinion.

"Whatever."

Santana flipped her hair back and marched out of the changing room. Tina and Mercedes gave each other a look, sighed and following the Latina out of the room.

"I do not want to think I am following you," Emma said, scaring the Limettes when they went outside the changing room. She appeared more excited than she should be. She beamed and motioned for the Limettes to come to her. "You may not be familiar with McKinley Records for the next week. Therefore, for today, I will show all of the rooms."

"Thank you…" Mercedes said, trailing off so she could glare at Santana who had her arms crossed. Santana, in returned, raised one eyebrow and pressed her lips together into a scowl.

"Okay, let's go," Emma began walking with the girl group following her lead. "You should be honored. Will is one of the best voice coaches on the east coast, if not, the whole country. He has been excited to meet you since Billy told him you were signed to the label."

Mercedes smiled at her band mates. This voice teacher must be nothing short of amazing if Emma, nice and calm Emma, was acting like a kid in a candy store. She almost ran into Emma when the vice president stopped out of nowhere. She mumbled a sorry as she stepped back. Emma smiled. "Sorry about that. I should have warned you. William will be meeting with another group before you come."

Behind her, the voice instructor walked out what was assumed to be his room with four men- three brunets and one blond. None of them noticed the ladies. Will was having a serious conversation. The Limettes tried to overhear what he was saying, but Emma, was too busy talking to them.

"Just in case you're wondering, that's the band New Directions," Emma pointed out, waving at Will who was now talking with only one of the band members. He smiled and waved back. Emma might or might not have crush on the voice coach. "They are McKinley's biggest act despite what Sue claims. Even with the British Invasion plaguing American bands everywhere, they are doing quite well."

"Does this mean that Sue's delusional?" Mercedes asked, hoping that was case. Maybe that could explain why she was rude to her and her friends.

Emma shrugged; she was in no mood to think about that thorn on her side. "Unfortunately, Sue refused to be tested for any mental illnesses. But I only think she thinks the world revolves her and the Cheerios. Do not be offended if she does not like you. She does not like many people."

Santana laughed for no reason.

"I do not want to sound unappreciative, but do we really need to go to work out-boot camp almost every morning?" Tina asked, hoping that Emma would not be upset with her question.

Emma looked back at Tina and responded with, "I know Ms. Beiste may be a bit tense but you have to understand the importance of appearance."

"I know it's important-"

"Having a television is becoming more common in households. More and more people are watching television for not only news, but for entertainment. They look at how you look, act, dress and talk. They will not know you personally, but they will form judgments based on what they see. I mean, look at the 1960 election. Why do you think Nixon lost? It was because Kennedy was more handsome and had charisma. That's what people want: the looks, the talent and the charisma."

"We're doing this to look good," Mercedes added.

Emma nodded. "Beauty is pain. But do not worry, it does get better." She planned to continue her speech about appearance until she noticed Will approaching her as the New Directions rushed to the bathroom; she straightened out her posture and said quickly. "I am sure Kurt will go into more depth when you see him later. Hello, Mr. Shuester. How has your morning been?"

The Limettes mimicked Emma's posture. Santana stopped after three seconds; she was too sore to stand up straight. And anyway, it wasn't like that man was hot, to her at least.

"Emma, really? Call me Will."

The Limettes glanced at each other. Will Shuester looked exactly like their "Glee Club" moderator; the one who had an unnatural obsession with vests and thought Mercedes had the most amazing voice in the world. Santana narrowed her eyes; she was pretty Mr. Shue did not have a twin brother.

Emma deeply blushed then cleared her throat. Although it might be a bit obvious, she maintained that she still loved her husband- even though she refused to be intimate with him but this was not the time to worry about that. "I would like to introduce to you McKinley's new act: the Limettes."

Will gave the Limettes a wide smile. "Hello. I have heard many things about you."

"I hope they're all good things." Mercedes said.

"Of course. You wouldn't be here if they weren't."

"I don't want to sound creepy or anything," Santana began with a very suspicious look on her face. "But do you happen to have a brother or a cousin that lives in Lima, Ohio? Because you look just like my old Glee teacher."

Mercedes groaned. She could not believe Santana just asked that. Though she was wondering the same thing...

Will's face changed from confusion to embarrassment. He let out a small chuckle and rubbed the back of his head. "Wow, this is really a small world. My older brother teaches Spanish in the high school in Lima."

Emma all of a sudden lost complete interest in the Limettes and asked Will if she could talk to him, in private. After he nodded and gave the girl group an apologetic look, Will allowed Emma to drag him about thirty feet from them. The Limettes were confused. Did Emma and Will expect them to stay here until they were finished talking about whatever?

Santana gave Mercedes and Tina an annoyed look; she didn't have time for this.

Out of nowhere, Tina elbowed Mercedes to get her attention and craned her neck forward. Mercedes realized what- or who- Tina was pointing to. Why was she pointing out to her a guy coming out of the bathroom? That was something Santana would do because she was bored.

"What about him?"

"Nothing," Tina quickly replied, sending Santana who was very interested in the man walking towards the Limettes.

The Limettes watched as the guy from New Directions- Santana needed to get a name before she went crazy- stop to talk to Will about something before he continued to walk down the hall. Tina could feel an awkward moment coming. Mercedes just wished Emma and Will could finish their conversation and Santana cursed when she realized that she forgot to put on her "man-catcher" red lip gloss.

"We should say hi to him," Santana suggested.

"Why so you can scare the poor man to death?"

"Mercedes, my friend, why would I do such a thing?'

Tina scoffed. "Because you're Santana and that's what you do."

Santana, offended, decided to pick a fight with Tina. Mercedes, not in the mood to watch her band members embarrass themselves with Will and Emma being less than fifty feet away, cursed under her breath and held Santana back as she attempted to swing some punches. Tina took a step back and sent Santana a dirty look.

"Good morning, ladies."

Mercedes instantly let Santana go, ignoring the string of curses in Spanish. Santana, breaking her fall, stood up tall and smooth out her skirt as if she was not about to give Tina a black eye.

Tina continued glaring at Santana.

Santana, being Santana, was not discreet about anything. She raised an eyebrow and looked at the blond up and down with a smirk of approval. She was more into Latinos, but this person caught her attention. She replied in a sultry tone. "And good morning to you too..."

Tina and Mercedes shook their heads.

Santana shook Sam's hand that might or might not have been extended. She was forward; that was normal behavior for her. "My name is Santana Lopez," she pointed at Tina. "This is Tina Cohen-Chang; you may never hear her speak because she's a bit shy around boys." She continued before Tina could protest- more like yell at her, "And Ms. I don't want to make eye contact with anyone, over there is the one and only Mercedes Jones. We are the Limettes."

If looks could kill, Mercedes would be arrested and convicted for second degree murder.

Mercedes looked at the blond man as he extended his hand. She raised an eyebrow; she should shake it. Yes, she should. She hesitated- she really didn't know why- but decided that since she was a polite person, she shouldn't leave a person hanging like that. She shook his hand, quite hard. "Nice to meet you. I'm Mercedes Jones. Contrary to what Santana said, I do know how to make eye contact with people. That's why I'm the leader singer." She looked straight in his eyes to make a point. "See?"

Santana scowled.

"Well, it seems that your friend does not know you as well as she thinks."

He flashed Mercedes a wide smile.

She faced the other way.

Tina and Santana exchanged confused looks.

Mercedes thanked the lord for her dark skin because she was pretty sure she was blushing. Though she didn't know why exactly; she wasn't into white boys with Southern accents.

"Enough about us," Santana said, feeling a bit jealous that the guitar player's focus was Mercedes and only Mercedes- who, by the way, look like she wanted him to disappear. "Who are you?"

"I'm sorry for not introducing myself. My name is Sam Evans. I'm a part of New Directions," He said, with a crooked grin, not directed at Santana- much to her chagrin. He lifted his guitar. "As you can see, I play guitar. When did you-?"

Mercedes, not knowing why she was feeling irritated all of a sudden, cut him off and replied as if she already knew what he planned to ask, "We just came to New York yesterday," Mercedes replied, wondering why he wasn't leaving right now to his people and band mates and why Santana was trying so hard. "We're signed here... also." Mercedes looked passed Sam to check if Will and Emma stopped talking- no such luck. She sighed dejectedly. "We're waiting for Mr. Shuester and Ms. Pillsbury to stop talking."

Sam glanced back and gave Mercedes an apologetic look. "Yeah, that may take a while. Pillsbury is a chatterbox around people she likes. Are you ladies waiting for Mr. Shue?"

Tina instantly had a flashback from the Mr. Shue from her high school; this was so weird.

Santana, feeling left out from the conversation, squeezed in between Tina and Mercedes. "Yes," she replied in a soft voice earning a groan from Mercedes and Tina. She didn't pay attention; she had a man to impress. "We are. This will be our first time meeting with a voice coach. We are all excited for the voice lesson."

Mercedes scoffed. Santana was full of- you know what.

Tina watched from the sidelines as Santana, literally threw herself at the poor man. She knew Santana was crazy- that was a given- she didn't know she would do something like this. she wanted to send Mercedes a signal to stop Santana scaring other people away but she was too busy avoiding eye contact with the blond who wouldn't stop grinning even if his life depended on it. She frowned a bit; well, it looked like she was going to have to do this all by herself. She lightly pushes Santana to the side and smiled at Sam. "She doesn't always act like this..." she said, referencing Santana would was sending her murderous look.

Mercedes rolled her eyes. Why couldn't Sam or whatever his name go away and why couldn't Will come over here and do his job? If she knew it was going to take this long, she would have taken a much needed mini-nap on one of the lounge couches down the hall.

"No problem," Sam replied, sending Santana a side look- she was definitely something else. "Where are y'all from?"

Tina replied. "Ohio."

"Lima, Ohio," Santana commented, very proudly. "You may not know where that is and that's okay. But everyone will know where that is once we get our number one record."

"Well, I hope that'll come true." Of course, as long as it doesn't compete with New Directions on the charts."

Santana continued talking. "Hey, you never know, we can beat your little band one day." She let out a dry laugh. "You know why? Because we have Ms. Mercedes Jones."

Okay, Santana had to admit; she was rambling but she wanted Sam to at least appear like he was sort of interested in her. Not that she wanted to be with him- because she was Santana and Santana didn't do relationships unless it benefited her- call her selfish; she called it being smart.

"Shut your mouth."

Santana did no such thing. "Unfortunately, Mercedes doesn't like to talk about how amazing her voice is. She thinks it's too arrogant." She shrugged as Mercedes sent her a mean look. What was wrong with her? All she was doing was sparking a conversation. "That's a shame, isn't it?"

"Is that true, Ms. Jones?"

Mercedes blinked. Did this mean she had to speak up? About her voice? In front of a person who was from another musical act? She lightly gulped. Santana was going to get it when they were done with Will- whenever that would be. "I don't like to brag, thank you," she simply replied.

Tina did not bother joining the conversation. It was much more entertaining listening to Santana talk nonstop.

"Oh really?" Sam winked at Mercedes. "I can't wait to her this amazing voice you friend's bragging about."

Tina choked on the gum she forgot she was chewing.

Mercedes made believe that Sam Evans, the man that some girls back home declared as their future husbands, did not just wink at her. Instead, she focused on Will and Emma- seriously, what could they be talking about now? This was messing up with the Limettes schedules big time. She hoped she would still be able to go sightseeing- granted, it would be at night and many things would be close but it would be better than nothing.

Santana grumbled. Great; this was just great. She decided to give up displaying Sam her charms; it appeared that he was much more interested in Mercedes who was more interested in Will finishing his conversation.

Mercedes let out a sigh of relief. Thank the Lord, Will waved to Emma and started to walk in the Limette's direction. She quickly glanced at Sam- she promised herself that she would only look at him for no more than five seconds. She feared if she past that time she would do something that would regret and make Santana go crazy. "Well...Sam, it looks like Will's decided that his talk with Emma is over. It was nice meeting you."

"Well," Sam said as he realized it was his time to go, "It was nice to meet you too, Ms. Jones... Santana and Tina."

"I thought he was very nice." Santana commented as soon as Sam left.

Mercedes prayed that he didn't hear the Latina. "Nice job embarrassing us," she grumbled.

Tina nodded in agreement.

Santana rolled her eyes. She didn't see the big deal. All she did was talk to the guy. "I did not do such a thing. I just introduced him to you-,"

"You told him I was shy around guys." Tina nearly screamed. "How was that not embarrassing?"

"Tina, yell at Santana later," Mercedes said as Emma and Will finished up their conversation. Will waved Emma goodbye and walked towards the Limettes. "

Tina reduced her scowl to a slight frown. She was going to get Santana back for that; just you watch.

Santana leaned in and whispered in Mercedes' ear as the Limettes followed their voice coach inside his room. "Honey, Trouty Mouth was flirting with you big time. For a sec, I thought he was going to bend down on one knee and ask you to marry him."

"Shut it, Santana."

"I'm just pointing the obvious out. He called you by your full name instead of your first name like Tina and I. That's a sign."

"You need to stop reading those teen magazines. You're too old for that junk."

"For your information, I find them very informative."

Tina tried to hide her laughter as Mercedes and Santana continued arguing into the room.

As soon as they went inside, Will went straight to business. "Hello, my name is William Shuester. But you can call me Will. I am the voice coach for this record company. My job is to make sure you're in tune and push your voices to the limit. Let's get started. First off, what genre do you prefer to sing?"

"Soul," Mercedes answered.

"Rhythm and Blues. None of that pop stuff." Santana grimaced just at the thought of sounding like those white girl groups.

"Only rhythm and blues?"

"Soul too," Tina added, having a bad feeling that William was not happy about their choice of music style though she didn't see the big deal. Music was music.

William let out a sigh. This was a problem. A big problem. Billy wanted singing groups that could bring in people from many groups to listen to their songs. As far as he was concerned, rhythm and blues only- or mostly- attracted the black people. "That's fine and all but if you wanted to only sing soul then you should have went to Motown. We can mix rhythm and blues and pop. You need to be able to cross over to the white audience. They aren't that keen on your guys' type of music, at least not yet. They like rock and roll and such."

Santana scoffed. "Rock and roll is overrated."

"Not to the world it is."

"Hold up. I thought we were brought here to sing soul and rhythm and blues. Don't the Cheerios sing pop?" Mercedes asked, hoping that Billy didn't falsely lead her group along. "No offense to folks who sing pop."

"You are but-"

"So you're saying that you want us to sound white?'

"Santana..." Mercedes chided. "I apologize for Santana's mouth. She has a hard problem with controlling it."

"It's not about sounding white. It's about being able to appeal to the white audience as well as other races. You have to produce mainstream music."

Mercedes did not care for Will's excuse. She did not travel all of these miles just to be told that she couldn't sing at what she was good at singing. "The Supremes and the Temptations sing rhythm and blues and they're popular."

"I am not saying that you will be singing completely pop. No, that's what the Cheerios are for. We're just going to mix some genres up. "

Mercedes sighed. Santana rolled her eyes and Tina wished they could start singing now.

"Are you ladies ready?" Will asked, sitting on the piano. He took out a sheet of paper and put it on the piano stand while the Limettes surrounded him. "We will be sampling a song that was originally designated for the Cheerios but Sue, always wanting the best, did not think it would fit the group. It's called, 'Baby I Love You' and if you sing it right, it can be a hit."

Mercedes nodded; this was the moment she was waiting for.

* * *

Right before Emma headed to the elevators, she caught sight of the last person she wanted to see at this time coming towards her. Emma groaned and asked God what she did to deserve this. Did Sue have anything else to do than bother her? She was already the reason why she had to have three cups of coffee in order not to drop on the floor to hibernate.

She thought about leaving- it was a really good plan since Sue walking- no, marching- towards her with a murderous glint in her eyes. What could she possibly be mad about this early in the day, Emma did not know.

"Good morning, Sue," Emma said when Sue reached within two feet of her. She tried and partially succeeded in not trying to sound frustrated. "How can I be in assistance?"

"I'm glad you asked," Sue said. "I was just happened to walk by Will's room and heard the most horrifying thing since finding out that you beat me for the vice president position."

Emma did not like where this was heading.

"I thought I was losing my mind at first. But then I realized, I couldn't have been because Sue Sylvester does not hallucinate. Right there in Will's room, I heard a song that was supposed to be designated for my Cheerios. Now Emma, do you have an explanation for that?"

"You didn't want the song," Emma responded, puzzled because that wasn't Sue's song anymore. "You said, and I quote, 'That song is stupid and I wouldn't let my Cheerios sing it even if someone had a pistol to my head.' Will thought that the new girl group should try it- something about not wanting to put a good song into waste."

"I know what I said," Sue snapped. She might have forgotten that she refused the Cheerios to sample the song. "Just because I did not to use the song does not mean you give it to another act. A new act that does not have more talent than my girls."

"It does not work that way, Sue."

Sue growled.

There wasn't a rational reason why Sue could not stand Emma for the life of her.

Emma- though it pained for her to admit it- was a sweet woman. She had compassion. She cared about a crap load of things. She gave everyone a second and even a third chance- which was all fine and good if she wanted to be a doctor or a mother but this was the music business, not a god damn charity.

Maybe Sue was still mad at Billy for picking a neurotic woman who looked like an alien with a mental problem over her.

"Really? Because I'm pretty sure it does." Sue took a step forward in an attempt to instill fear into the vice president. Much to her chagrin, Emma just gave her a bored look. "I don't know what kind of operation and/or conspiracy you and Will are running, but the Cheerios are and will always be McKinley's prized musical act. And no one, especially that girl group full of people who shouldn't be in this country in the first place, is going to change that."

"They are called the Limettes."

"I don't care what they're called; I want them dropped from this label!"

Emma sighed. This was expected. "Sue, I cannot drop a group just because you do not like them. I thought you of all people would know that. Anyway, they were just signed yesterday. What could they have possibly done to anger you?"

Sue did not feel that she needed to answer Emma's question. Instead, she resorted to what she did best- threaten her enemies. "Listen to me, Emma, and listen to me clearly. If I find out that Billy is investing more time and money on that "minority" girl group than my Cheerios, there are going to be some serious repercussions. I'm talking about hardcore CIA action. I do have connections, you know. Do you get me?"

Emma, being used to Sue's antics, was not a bit intimidated by Sue's threat. Instead, she fought back the urge to roll her eyes and said, in an unusually firm voice, "If you have an issue with the Limettes then you should address it to Billy. Now if you don't mind, I have to meet up with the minority girl group who may or may not derail your precious Cheerios' reputation."

And with that, she pushed past Sue and rushed to the elevators.

Sue was going to throw the vice president an insult- her specialty- but for the first time, in a very long time, she could not think of any. Now this was a monumental event in the life of Sue Sylvester- she always had at least ten insults lined up when talking to someone.

Sue scrunched up her face. Who was this woman and what the hell did she do with the wimpy Emma she has been dealing with for the past four years? She narrowed her eyes as she watched Emma enter the elevators. She must investigate this.

**First off, let me apologize for the lateness of this chapter. Writer's block was horrible to me and I spent a few days figuring out how I was going to write the middle of the chapter. I will try not to take very long to update the next chapter.**

**I hope you all enjoyed it! More people will be introduced soon. Thanks a bunch for all your replies; you are amazing.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any song that may appear in the story. I am only using them for entertainment purposes. Please do not sue; I'm a poor college student.**

**Chapter Three**

Brittany Pierce did not care what the others thought about her; she did not fit the stereotype of a dumb blonde. She did not care that her band mates often called her a 'ditz' and Sue suggested too many times that she needed to repeat the first grade. So what if she believed in elves and Santa Claus didn't everyone? And yeah, she thought babies came from storks, but the last time she checked, parents told their kids that all the time. She was a smart woman. She cared about everyone- though she had to admit that being this way often got her into trouble.

And she was amazing dancer; Mike Chang said so himself; she was the best dancer in the record company.

She was not one to get jealous; an amazing feat since it was quite obvious that Sue preferred Quinn over her and her other band mate, Rachel- she didn't know why; everyone knew that Rachel was the real lead singer. She did not speak out or back stab when she found out that Sue was giving Quinn all the promotions- Rachel, on the other hand, was not so kind. Brittany liked to go with the flow; she followed the beat to her drum and was unconventional. This was why she completely ignored Sue when she said- no, yelled- that the Cheerios were not allowed to interact with the Limettes.

"I think it's great McKinley has another girl group," Brittany said before eating her fries. She was supposed to be on this super strict- no salt, no sugar and no fat diet imposed by Sue. She didn't care. She was hungry. She and the Limettes sat at a diner down the street from McKinley. She wore normal clothes so she wouldn't get recognized- thanks to the Kurt's rather loud fashion, the Cheerios were always wearing some wild attire. "There are only so many boy bands I can deal with."

Mercedes took a long sip of her soda malt. She ignored the lingering looks from other customers who obviously never seen so much diversity sitting at one table. "How many boy bands are there? I thought there was only one."

Brittany shook her head. "Oh no, there are five. All of them except New Directions are on tour on the west coast. New Directions will tour next month."

"How come the Cheerios are still here?" Tina asked. She thought that multiple groups always toured together. At least, that was what Emma told her. "Did you guys tour already?"

"Yeah, we just came back from England. You would think Sue would give us a few days off thanks to that fiasco, but no..." Brittany frowned. She didn't want to think about England; not now. "The Cheerios and New Directions, who are the top groups in the company, don't tour together. Actually, the Cheerios don't tour with anyone. Sue doesn't want other groups to outshine us on the stage. Which is so stupid if you ask me; tons of acts travel together all the time."

"You don't like traveling with only the Cheerios?"

Brittany nervously chuckled. The way Tina phrased it made it seemed that Brittany didn't like her group. "I do." She paused. "But England was _so_ boring. All we did was practice, practice and practice." Brittany paused again, realizing that she might sound like a spoiled brat. "Which came with the job, but that was the first time I went out the country. I wanted to go sightseeing..." she trailed off. "Anyway, I prefer traveling with other groups. You'll get tired of seeing the some few people over and over."

Mercedes nodded in understanding.

Tina did the same then yawned while stretching her limbs. It was not lady-like of her, she knew. Her mother would have a heart attack if she saw what her daughter was doing. She couldn't help it; her body was crashing and all she wanted to do was sleep.

This past week had been nothing short of hectic. Emma had the Limettes on a busy, tight schedule from seven in the morning to nine at night. The vice-president gave them the weekend off because Tina looked like she was about to pass out- no one knew if she was faking or not. The Limettes took their time off as an opportunity to be tourists in the big city.

When Brittany suggested she treated them to lunch, the Limettes would be fools to miss that chance.

Tina continued stretching out her arms, grimacing at her sore muscles. There should be no reason why Shannon Beiste thought she was training some world-class sports team. "Shannon kicked our behinds this morning. It was as if she was mad at us or something."

"Ugh," Mercedes grumbled. "I don't even want to think about that workout. I'm shocked I can still walk."

"Oh, I know what you mean. She can be a bit... intense. But Shannon is a sweetheart; she is so kind when she's not training people," Brittany commented, sliding the fries to Santana who gave her the most cautious look she could muster. "I see you eying them; take them all. I shouldn't be eating deep- fried potatoes anyway." She continued before Santana could think of anything to say, "Some people are scared of her because she can be very manly, but you guys should really talk to her one day. Her life story is amazing."

"Is it true that she used to be on the East German Olympic team?"

Brittany actually laughed at Tina's question. It was a stupid rumor, really; she wasn't even born there. "She's not even German. At least, I don't think."

"She told me she is from French descent and..." Mercedes trailed off as she looked down at her burger; she was so hungry. All she had was a piece of eggs- for breakfast- and a salad. She supposed she had to listen to Emma about appearances.

Brittany looked up from her meal. "Mercedes, come on, a burger isn't going to kill you. Trust me, I would know." She took a bite of her burger, "Sue has us on this super strict diet but once a week a treat myself." She flashed the Limettes a smile. "I love meat- uh, as in meat to eat in food."

Mercedes and Tina laughed.

Santana continued eating her fries, not realizing a faint brush of pink on her cheeks.

"Enjoy your food while you can," Brittany insisted. "I assure you- now, I'm telling you from experience- once you get big, everyone is going to be in your face. Talking about how you look and dress. How much weight you lost and gained. And then they're going to start asking about what diet you used?" She let out a deep sigh. "I've been asked that a few times. They don't believe that dancing six hours a day will keep the pounds off."

Mercedes brought a hand to her mouth. "Six hours?"

Brittany shrugged. "What can I say? I love to dance. Mike is such an amazing teacher. I don't understand why he doesn't open his own academy. Billy doesn't appreciate him…"

"Who are you talking-?" Santana gasped then gave Tina a wide smirk. "Oh! You mean the instructor Tina has a crush on."

Mercedes roughly elbowed Santana.

"I do not have a crush on him," Tina shot back, wishing that Santana, for once, would shut up for ten minutes. She was convinced that the Latina was secretly after her. And for record, she did not have a crush on their dance instructor. All she said was that he was cute. And sweet and could dance-

Tina bowed her head, hiding her blush.

Damn, Santana might be right.

"There is nothing wrong with that," Brittany reassured, smiling. "Everyone has a crush. I used to have the biggest crush on James Dean. He was so dreamy..." Her expression turned solemn. "I was so sad when he died from that terrible accident. I cried for two nights straight."

"I'm sorry…"

"Anyway, I'm sure Emma is going to make you all go on some diet, so enjoy your food now. You're going to miss it when you only live on whole grains and vegetables."

"Note taken."

"I cannot believe this…"

"Are you serious?"

"Welcome to the music business," Brittany said sadly. A part of her wished the Limettes would choose a different career. The music business was brutal; even more brutal than Hollywood, in her opinion. She had seen bad times happen to good people in order to gain fame. "And trust me, that's the good part. Hey, as long as you're smart, you'll be fine."

"Gee, thanks," Santana grumbled.

"Aw, it's not all that bad- as long as the fame doesn't get your head. That's when things start falling apart." Brittany slightly frowned at the Limette's horrified expression. She didn't intend to scare the girl group- she was only telling the truth. "Oh, and make sure you know your value. There are some things that aren't worth it to do for fame. Some of these singers- they sell their souls to make it big. They'll do anything to have a good song. You name it, someone has done it."

Tina gulped and asked, "Do you know anyone? Who sold their souls?"

"We all do; that's why we're here. But there are some who sell and never get it back. It's sad you know." She paused. "Oh my, I completely forgot to apologize for Sue's behavior. I know this may sound like a lie, but she's not all that bad. But I don't know what's up with her lately- you would think that she would be in a better mood after we had yet another number one record."

"That's okay," Mercedes said, finishing her fries. They were _so_ good. She could not believe she even thought, for a moment, that she was never going to eat them again. "She probably had a bad day."

Santana snorted.

"I don't want to sound mean." Tina shuddered at the memory of Sue Sylvester. "But what's her problem? It wasn't like we were mean to her. Even Santana didn't say anything offensive. She called me 'Slanted Eyes.'"

"Sue has nicknames for everyone." Brittany, knowing her manager's behavior all too well, gave Tina a sympathetic look. "That's how she is. I wouldn't be surprised if I were you. Sue has an issue with anyone who isn't paled-skinned or Protestant. If you haven't noticed, she's not very fond of Rachel Berry."

"Why? She's white."

"No. She's Jewish. Sue thinks all Jews are good for is lying and taking everyone's money."

"Then why is she still a part of the Cheerios?"

"Because she knows how to put on a show." Brittany shrugged. "In this business, that's really all that matters in the end. About Sue- she… wants to make the Cheerios's live picture perfect. She wants Quinn to be a role model or something. She wants Rachel to be the perfect singer, which isn't going well, I'm telling you. Sue dictates our lives; she's even making us date certain people to increase our star power."

"You're kidding."

"Oh gosh, I wish," Brittany replied, crossing her arms. "She wants Quinn to be with Finn; he's the lead singer of New Directions and me with Sam, who is also-"

"A part of New Directions," Mercedes finished off, frowning a bit though she had no idea why. "We met him."

Brittany's face lit up. "He's great, isn't he? Unfortunately, he's not my type and I'm pretty sure I'm not his either. We're only good friends but Sue believes otherwise."

"Why would she want to do that?" Tina asked.

"Publicity," Brittany rolled her eyes. "I guess it would give us more sales- that doesn't make any sense. We already have plenty of number one hits. There is nothing worse than being forced to date someone you don't like."

"That sucks," Tina commented.

"Tell me more about Sam." Santana said, smirking at Mercedes who in returned sent her the harshest glare she could muster. Santana just shrugged. All she wanted was some information. Mercedes did not have to worry; Santana was not going to take the blond man away from her; actually, she planned to do just the opposite. "Is he really as nice as he seems?"

Brittany laughed at Santana's seriousness. "Are you investigating him or something?" she asked, causing Santana to blush in embarrassment. "I'm just kidding, you know, and yes, he is a wonderful person. Not my type, but wonderful. You guys should also talk to him sometime too."

The waiter came over to the table and asked if the women wanted anything else. Brittany was the only one who ordered anything- an order of onion rings. She felt bad about her decision when the waiter left. She was supposed to be on a diet, damn it. Yes, she was splurging a bit- a lot- but she must have gained like, five pounds since she came to the diner.

Brittany thought about excusing herself to the bathroom to get rid of her stomach content- this wouldn't be her first time- but she didn't want to get caught in a public bathroom. What if there were photographers lurking around the diner? What if they took pictures? Think about what the magazines would say. What Sue would say? Sue would be very upset, that was for sure.

"Oh did you hear about what happened to Figgins?"

"Who?" The trio asked in unison.

Brittany blinked. How could they not know who Figgins was? Everyone knew who Figgins was. "You know, Figgins. Sue's ex-husband."

"Someone married her?" Santana gagged with disgust. Why would anyone want to do through that?"

"It's a long story," Brittany quickly replied, not wanting to retell that story. Someone needed to make a movie about Figgins and Sue's marriage- though Hollywood would most likely have an issue with the interracial aspect. "Anyway, Figgins used to be the president of McKinley Records." She paused, thinking of a nice way to explain this. "Long story short- Sue only married him to become the Cheerios' manager. I felt sorry for the guy; he was so nice but he was not for Sue. Not the point- apparently, I found out this morning that he is in the hospital."

"For what?"

"Attempted drug overdose," Brittany rubbed her forehead. "Many famous people's death of choice. I couldn't believe it. But don't tell anyone; it hasn't been leaked into the press yet."

Mercedes gulped. "But how did you-?"

"I have my ways," Brittany proudly replied.

Brittany liked to be known as the local gossip- yes, she was perfectly aware that this was a title that one shouldn't want. If there was one thing she was good at besides dancing, it was eavesdropping. Most of the time it wasn't intentional; she just had great hearing. Most people at McKinley did not mind saying anything scandalous in front of the blonde. Because she was Brittany- she probably wasn't even paying attention. She wasn't the type of person who would blackmail anyone and she was not nearly as ambitious as her other band mates. Little did they know, this definitely was not the case.

Santana leaned over the table and narrowed her eyes. She was curious about how much did Brittany know about McKinley Records. "Is there anything else about people over at McKinley we should know about?"

Brittany stopped chewing then swallowed her food in one gulp; she had to work on her eating etiquette. "You met Kurt, right? Well, he's a homosexual," Brittany whispered, causing the Limettes to choke on their colas. I know and he's not even trying to hide it. Sue calls him 'Porcelain.' He doesn't like it but it's better than other people's nicknames. And then there's Puck, you know, the producer. He's a playboy. He can't stay with a woman for a week to save his life. He prefers older women for some reason. Oh, and he's been in jail a few times.,,"

Santana was paying the most attention out of the Limettes; whether it was because she was genuinely interested in whatever the Cheerio was saying or because she could not keep her eyes on anything else but the blonde's face, she would never say. She leaned on her elbows, resting her chin on clenched fists and continued to listen to how Brittany found out what Puck was having an affair with Quinn with complete wonder.

Tina, who had been watching the Latina's move ever since they got there, believed that there was something seriously wrong with Santana. Santana was never the one to be completely engrossed in one's conversation, not matter who it was or how important.

Brittany changed to a happier topic. All of this drama-related talk was boring her. "Are you guys doing a song now? I heard you guys singing in Will's office. You sound amazing, with a capital A."

Santana smirked. "We know."

"We're going to start recording tomorrow," Mercedes excitedly replied, giving her band mates a wide smile. "We're going to be singing 'Baby, I Love You.'"

Brittany's jaw dropped a bit. Wasn't that-? Yes, it was. Oh man, Sue was going to flip tables when she found this out. "Hey, the Cheerios tried that song out but Sue, being Sue, thought it wasn't a good fit for us. And I liked that song too," she paused then smiled. "Well, I hope you do that song some justice."

"We are going to slay that song," Santana reassured with a smirk. "Number one, baby."

Brittany beamed. "I cannot wait for that day to come because it will nice to have another girl group get number ones besides the Cheerios."

"I'm sure your manager won't feel that way..." Mercedes muttered.

Brittany waved Mercedes' comment off. "Oh don't worry about her. I have faith in you guys," she genuinely said. "I know we are supposed to be rivals and all, but I think that all talented people should succeed and you all are definitely talented. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

Mercedes couldn't understand how someone as sweet as Brittany could work with Sue Sylvester. "Thank you and I hope the Cheerio continues to succeed."

Brittany let out a sigh. "We have no choice. Sue would literally kill us if our song doesn't make at least the top ten. Oh! I have an idea!" She exclaimed, not in the mood to talk about her wacked-out manager. "We should to get together and hang out- as in you guys and the rest of the Cheerios. We can have a girls' night out. I know I can get you into some clubs that don't only allow white folks."

Brittany would love to do this. She was well aware that the two girl groups did not get off on a good start-but she knew that after some time, her band mates would grow to like the Limettes as much as she did.

The Cheerio met the Limettes a few days ago, after finishing her dance practice with Mike. The girl group had dance practice right after the Cheerios. Quinn ignored the Limettes and didn't bother saying hello; she pushed pass the trio and stomped to the elevators. Rachel was too busy arguing with Mike about a particular dance move to notice. The blonde knew she shouldn't talk to the Limettes- Sue had made that very clear- but she was a nice person and nice people said hello to others.

She liked the Limettes. Mercedes was simply terrific. Tina, although a bit shy, was so much smarter than her it was sad; she would give her the most random facts every day. She found Santana hilarious, and even loved her crude humor. She would love to see her and Sue in a verbal match; she didn't know who would win but it would sure be interesting.

The Limettes did not know what to say. They? Hang out with the Cheerios? Sue would simply explode from the thought. And they didn't even want to get started with Quinn...

"Thanks for the offer..." Tina began.

"But it would be a bit awkward," Santana finished, rolling her eyes.

"Not that it would be awkward exactly," Mercedes reasoned, trying not to sound rude. She could be grateful for this invitation, she really should but Emma warned her and the Limettes about attracting too much attention. "But I don't think Quinn likes us very much," Mercedes muttered as she finished the last of her malt. She really wanted to buy another one but resisted temptations. "She seems to have an attitude."

Brittany sighed. Mercedes was neither the first nor the last person to say that about Quinn. But she knew Quinn for years; she knew what was beyond that tough, mean-girl facade. "Quinn isn't that mean. You just have to get to know her..."

"I don't have time for that," Santana snapped. She was moments from showing Quinn just who was messing with when she last saw her.

"Quinn is much nicer than she lets on. You have to get pass the whole 'I'm the queen of the music world' thing and I'm sure you will grow to like her."

"Oh, I'm sure."

Brittany gave Santana a sharp look. She didn't want to make the Limettes think that they had to be best friends with Quinn, just understand that she had a lot if things going on. "I'm serious. She's been through a lot. She uses her snobby attitude to defend herself."

Tina sighed. "I know this will sound sad, but I'm so jealous of her. She's so pretty and perfect and-"

"Honey," Brittany said, cutting Tina off, shaking her head with disagreement. "No one's perfect and Quinn's not the exception. There's no need to be jealous of Quinn. Now, you may think she's perfect, but that's her on the outside. She has her own demons," Brittany really should not be spilling her team mates secrets but in reality, everyone knew about Quinn's drama. "She likes shooting up."

Maybe she should not have mentioned that.

Mercedes dropped her sandwich. She hoped Brittany wasn't saying what she thought she was saying. "Heroin?"

"My god…"

"That may explain a lot."

Brittany did not say anything else about the topic; she said enough. Instead, she took a bite of her burger that she was not allowed to eat- she was feeling so guilty. She would just have to make sure she didn't eat dinner or tomorrow's breakfast.

Brittany glanced at the clock behind her table and cursed under her breath. How could she forget? She had to meet up with Sam at this fancy restaurant whose name she could not pronounce. She was not in the mood to go on another "date" with Sam- not that she didn't like him but they were meeting for all the wrong reasons.

"Brittany, is everything okay?" Tina asked, watching Brittany quickly finish the last of her burger.

"I have to go on a date. With Sam."

Mercedes, once again, choked on her fries. Great, this was just great. Of course Sam was dating Brittany. They looked fricken' perfect together. Her eyes widened a little- no, she did not just think that. And no, she was not envious of one of the nicest people she had ever met.

Santana narrowed her eyes. No, she would not admit that she was a bit jealous and disappointed by the recent development. "You two are really together?"

Brittany quickly looked through her purse, slightly frowning. Crap, where was here lipstick? She could've sworn she put it in her bag earlier. "We are. Well, not really. Sue is making us date in public so people can swoon over how cute we look. And New Directions manager thinks it's a splendid idea." She rolled her eyes. "Publicity stunts are a pain in you know what."

Santana grumbled and crossed her arms.

Tina gasped.

"So you two are fake dating?" Mercedes asked in disbelief. She knew people pulled publicity stunts but she only thought movie stars did that. "What do you guys have to do?"

Brittany shrugged. "Nothing much. All we have to do is act like we're in love and give each other a kiss here and there. Make sure some photographers get a picture and make Sue happy."

"How long do you have to do this?"

Brittany sighed and closed her compact mirror. She wished Sue spent more time improving the Cheerio's singing and dancing skills and less time on trying to build up a public image. Why wasn't Quinn doing this? Or even Rachel? They both loved the spot light. "At least six months. Two already passed."

"Damn," was all Santana could mutter. So her plans to set Mercedes up with Sam- because she still believed that he was flirting with Mercedes big time last week- went out the window. Not that she was scared- but she was not in the mood to get in a fist fight with a six foot woman who might have connections with the feds.

"I'm sorry, you guys," Brittany said, feeling bad that she had to leave her new friends for something she really didn't want to do. Maybe she'll convinced Sam to go to the ice cream store instead of that fancy restaurant- ugh, she could not believe she had to do this. Fake dating someone she was not interested in was not in her contract. "But I have to leave."

"It's fine," Mercedes said.

Santana did not say anything.

"Thank you so much for the lunch," Tina said, taking out a couple of dollars for tip. It was the least she could do. She had her first real- but unhealthy- meal in a week. She had been living off oatmeal and peaches Mercedes' mother sent them a few days ago. "It was delicious."

Brittany eyed the money and frowned. "Tina, put it away. I said it was my treat."

Mercedes, hating that she had to rely on another person- who was a part of a "rival group", mind you, to provide her with lunch, felt bad that Brittany had to spend so much money. "I know this is your treat, but I'm so sorry about not being able to contribute and-"

"Mercedes Jones, how many times do I have to tell you that it's okay?" Brittany scoffed and brushed off Mercedes' apology. "This is my treat. I know you guys don't have much money," the Limettes looked at her with offense. Brittany let out a nervous laugh. "I mean, you don't have much right now. Not many people do when they enter the music business. You can treat me when your paychecks start coming in, deal?"

"Deal," Santana agreed all too quickly. "First check, we got you."

**To be continued…**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any song that may appear in the story. I am only using them for entertainment purposes. Please do not sue; I'm a poor college student.**

**Chapter Four**

"How was your date with Brittany?"

"Shut up, Finn."

"I was just asking," Finn curtly replied. He would never understand Sam's aversion to dating Brittany Pierce. Sure, she was no Quinn or Rachel- which might be a bad thing- but she was cute and damn, she knew how to move her body. Sam could make beautiful blonde babies with that girl. "I don't know what's up with you. Do you know how many guys would kill to have one date with her?"

Sam glared at the lead singer of New Directions. "Then why don't you date her? Do me a favor and tell Sue that you'll be taking my place as Brittany's fake lover. Can you give me back my hairspray?"

There was no reason why Finn should ask how the date went. The date went on like every other date went with Brittany. It was the same thing over and over again. The two singers met up as friends and talked like friends not like the lovers that Sue and Dave wanted.

He hated that Dave agreed with Sue about this dumb proposition. New Directions and the Cheerios were popular enough; there was no reason to pull a publicity stunt. Both groups dominated gossip magazines already.

To be honest, Sam thought Artie and Brittany should be the ones seeing each other. They seemed to have more in common, believe it or not, and more chemistry. The bass player was in love with the woman- he was in denial about this, but the truth finally came out once alcohol was involved.

"Your obsession with hairspray is not healthy man," Finn said, tossing the can to his friend who caught it without looking. "You're slowly turning into a girl."

"You shouldn't be talking, Finn Hudson. How long do you spend in front of the mirror?"

"Look, I need to look good for the ladies."

"So do I." Sam coughed from the can fumes. He hated hairspray with a passion but unfortunately, his mother would come all the way from Tennessee to kill him if he cut his hair or bangs. He had to put his hair back; according to Dave, it was the 'style.' He quickly looked up at the clock to his left. Damn it, they didn't have much time.

In less than a half an hour, New Directions was going to perform in front of three hundred people. The crowd was smaller than usual but Dave wanted the band to perform at a smaller venue before they went on their cross-country tour in about four weeks. The show started in less than thirty minutes and have of New Directions wasn't even here yet. Finn was becoming frustrated and Sam wanted nothing more than to leave this damn place and go to sleep- thanks to an incident that involved two certain Cheerios that he promised Finn not to speak of, he only had two hours of sleep. The fact that he could function was astonishing.

"You think it's true what they said about Dave?"

Sam stopped spraying his hair and gave his friend a look. This was one thing, besides his fake relationship with Brittany, that he never wanted to talk about. "I don't know."

"I mean, it's a rumor, right?" Finn nervously asked. He prayed that the gossip was false, but he heard it from Brittany- and he trusted her word because she knew everything about everybody. "He can't be a homo-"

"Finn, it's just a rumor. There's no evidence that our manager likes men."

"That's the thing. Brittany said that Sugar saw him trying to kiss Kurt."

"That's not evidence." Sam sighed, watching his friend have a panic attack. "Are you sure it's not the other way around?"

"I'm serious, Sam."

Sam let out another sigh. As usual, Finn was making a big deal out of trivial things. They had a show to put on in twenty minutes and Artie and Rory were still not here. Dave was literally flipping shit and Finn was worried about Dave's sexual orientation. He sure liked to choose the wrong times to worry about petty gossip.

Sam was finally done with his hair. Good, now Dave shouldn't throw a fit about his bangs being in his face. Sam was pretty sure that using so much hairspray was not good for his lungs, but it kept Dave's mouth shut so he would worry about his health later.

"If you're so interested in knowing the truth, why don't you ask Kurt?'

"You know I can't do that."

"Why not? He's your step brother."

Sam was right- he was right most of the time. He should just ask Kurt; he would definitely now. But it would be awkward doing so. What was he going to ask? Oh hey, Kurt, I want to know if you know if my manager is gay? Rumors would spread and distort in an unimaginable speed.

"I just can't." Finn frowned. "I just can't believe that the rumors would be true. He doesn't even act like them. Like Kurt."

"No offense, but we have other things to worry about than our manager's sexuality," Sam peeped out the door and saw his fuming manager arguing with some poor worker. "Like where our other band members are. We can't play the drums, bass, guitar and sing at the same time."

"Rory said that he will be here right before the show starts, something about helping her grandmother with something." Finn put on his bowtie. "Artie should be here already."

Sam rolled his eyes and closed the door. He didn't have anything to say about Artie- except he better get his act together before Dave found out about his extracurricular activities.

"Why did you meet up with Brittany so late?" Finn, asked out of the blue. Sam has been short with him since four o'clock this morning. He wanted to make some small talk to ease the tension- though, if he wanted to do so, he shouldn't mention Brittany's name in anything. "I could've sworn you said your meeting her at noon, not five."

"We were," Sam responded but only do so because he knew Finn wouldn't shut up until he gave him a good answer. "But she couldn't make it. She had lunch with the Limettes."

Sam regretted that did not have the chance to spend more time with the Limettes this. Dave and Sue had been watching him like a hawk; he did not understand what the big deal was.

No, that was a lie, he knew exactly what the deal was- he just didn't give a damn. Okay, so none of the members were white, they couldn't even pass off as being so. Sam didn't mind. Dave, on the other hand, went on a rant about media and whatnot because Rachel- that loud mouth- told him that Sam was talking to Mercedes.

Dave, as usual, took it to the next level because apparently speaking to the opposite sex meant hooking up.

Not that Sam would be against that… God, he wanted to kiss her so bad. She was gorgeous; the most beautiful woman he ever met. And she was talented; she blew every singer out of the water with her voice and-

All he said to Mercedes was 'Hi. How are you?' He was being polite. It wasn't like he was having a full-fledged conversion and even if he wanted to, Mercedes wouldn't let him say more than two sentences to her without walking away.

"The Limettes?" Finn asked. "Didn't Quinn get in a fight with one of them?"

Finn didn't know much about the Limettes. All he knew was that Sue was pissed off beyond belief that Billy Johnson would dare defy her wishes and hire another girl group. According to Brittany, the three ladies were great but according to Quinn, they were losers- Quinn tended refer to everyone as losers. He decided that he wasn't going to get involved with them; Sue would get mad and tell Dave who would, in turn, get mad at him.

Call him a coward. He wouldn't care. He valued his job and if he wanted to maintain his role as lead singer of New Directions, he had to continue kissing everyone's ass.

"Quinn gets into fights with everyone."

"True." Finn nodded in agreement. He had to talk to Quinn about that; it wasn't doing her public image any favors- once, she decided to stop playing the silent game with him. "But I heard this one was bad."

Sam didn't even have to ask which Limette Finn was talking about. Santana was definitely a firecracker; apparently, she made Sue's death list- not easy to do since the girl group only got signed a week ago. He had a feeling she and Quinn clashing because of their over-inflated egos.

"Did fists fly?"

"No, but they almost did." Finn believed he was making some progress. Sam was loosening up. "Sue said that the Cheerios and we can't mingle with them. Something about not being good for our image."

"I don't care what she said. " Sam gave Finn an annoyed look; he was actually listening to that crazy woman? Why Billy thought she was fitting for a band manager was beyond him. "Dave's our manager, not Sue."

"Yes, I know. But she has Dave wrapped around her finger." Finn let out a nervous laugh. "It's like she's running New Directions-"

"Dave's our manager, not Sue," Sam sternly repeated, becoming even more annoyed that Finn was scared of Sue. Sure, she was a bit intimidating, but seriously, she wasn't their problem. Finn should let the Cheerios deal with her. "Did you even meet the girls? They seemed fine to me."

Finn gave him a look.

"I'm guessing that's a no?"

"You guessed right." Finn ran a hand through his head; bad move. He had to do his hair all over again. "The last thing I need is Rachel or Quinn to see me talking to other women."

"You need to do something with that before shit really goes down," Sam warned. "And I may not be as willing to help you when that happens. Which it will."

"Like I said this morning, I'll deal with it."

"The last time you said that, Quinn slapped you in the face. _Hard_."

Finn frowned. That was something he definitely didn't need to be reminded of.

Artie Abrams rushed into the room, said a quick hello to his band mates and threw his bag on the floor. He didn't have time for small talk; he was late, twenty minutes late. He promised the band that he would be on time this and it looked like he could keep his promise, of course he got side-tracked because of something he rather not talk about.

"You're late."

"I'm sorry. Things got in the way," he glanced at Sam- great, he was mad at him again- then back at Finn. "How many minutes we got?"

"Twenty-five."

Sam didn't acknowledge the bass player. He wanted to look like he was too engrossed in fixing his bowtie in the right position to notice Artie strolling in the dressing room. He had it with Artie and his drama.

Finn didn't ignore Artie. He stood up tall, crossed his arms with a mean scowl on his face, watching Artie trying to put himself together. "Where the fuck were you?"

Artie narrowed his eyes and rushed to change his clothes. He looked like he just ran a marathon and he sound like it when he tried to explain why he was an hour late. "Brooklyn."

"What the hell were you doing there? I thought you said you were you going to Riverdale."

Sam did not care for the answer. He knew Artie and he knew why he was at the other side of the city. He just couldn't understand it; how could someone so smart be so dumb? Was he trying to go to jail?

"I had to make a delivery for a friend," Artie reluctantly replied. He already knew what Sam and Finn were thinking. "And I need some hash from another friend. But it wasn't supposed to take this long-,"

"You came late because you wanted some grass?"

Artie shot Sam a mean look. He didn't understand; he just didn't understand what he had to do. "I know this sounds bad-"

"No, shit."

"Thank you, Finn," Artie replied sarcastically. He took off his shirt and replaced it with a button up shirt. He wished he could perform with his normal clothes, but Dave would have an aneurysm if he saw his attire. "But I had to do a favor for a friend. He's the reason why I'm not behind bars."

"Can you do these favors on days when we don't have a show to put on?"

Sam could understand Finn's frustration. Artie had to know that dealing and using illegal drugs was not doing his public image or career any favors.

"Like I have a say in that."

Sam snorted.

"Really, Sam? I'm not kidding when I say I don't have a choice in this."

Sam snorted again. "I know you don't, but you should have thought about that when you thought it was a splendid idea to make homemade drugs in your hotel room."

Artie did not bother replying. Yeah, he knew what he did was stupid and he had to pay for this mistake for the rest of his life. It wasn't that he wanted to be involved in the drug trade; it was either help out his cop 'friend' who literally saved him from being a felon or go to prison and kiss his music career goodbye.

Instead, the bass player just changed his clothes.

* * *

Dave Karofsky was a busy man. He had to manage one of the biggest bands in the country and make sure they remained relevant on the charts or else Billy would fire him- the man was a fire-happy man, one slip up and anyone could kiss his or her career good bye. He had to schedule eleven shoes before New Directions go on their annual countrywide tour. Eleven- two and a half times more than last year.

He wanted to rip whatever was left of his hair out when Billy insisted, more like demanded, the additional shows. And the man had the nerve to suggest that he should book a show at the Apollo in Harlem. The _Apollo_.

Did Billy want to spark a race riot?

Dave ran his fingers through his short brown hair and marched backstage. New Directions was going to perform in seven minutes- it was supposed to be three but the announcer just arrived at the venue. As soon as he saw the announcer's assistant, he grabbed the poor man's collar, pushed in against the nearest wall and growled. "If your boss isn't back here in thirty seconds, we're leaving. Got it?"

The assistant meekly nodded and scurried away when Dave finally released his group. Dave let out another growl as he watched the assistant frantically asking anyone he could fine about the whereabouts of the announcer.

He turned his attention to his next victim, a woman who couldn't be any older than twenty-five, tightly holding her clipboard to her chest. She violently shuddered as Dave's eyes landed on her.

"Where's my band?" Dave roughly asked, not giving a damn if he instilled fear inside the woman. He had a show to run.

"They're coming as we speak."

Dave let out yet another growl and marched in the direction of the dressing room.

* * *

Finn wasn't surprised when he heard Dave's booming voice from down the hall. He was mad, real mad, but he was always mad about something. Even things that normal people didn't get mad about. He manager should seriously consider taking anger management class; he would be the perfect candidate.

"Looks like we'll have to be on Dave's good side for the rest of the night."

Sam snorted, not liking the idea that Dave was going to take all of frustrations out on them yet again. He took out his guitar out of the case. "What else is new…"

Rory Flanagan barged into the dressing room, out of breath. He apologized about his lateness; claimed that it was because his eight-something year old grandmother wanted to move her coach up to her new apartment in Yonkers. He couldn't say no; she was his grandmother and his father would rip him a new one if he found out that his son did not have enough time to help her. Of course she picked a day when there was a concert.

He noticed Artie staying as far away from Finn and Sam as possible; he watched the bass player finish putting on his clothes, grabbing his bass and strolling out of the room without another word. He let out a sigh.

"What's his problem?"

"He thinks smoking grass is more than important than showing at a gig on time."

Rory grumbled. So Artie was at it again. The bass player promised that he would lay off the recreational stuff until the summer- that was three days ago. "Dave's not going to be happy when he finds out about this…"

"For Artie's safety, he better hope that time never comes. You know he has no problem kick people out."

"What's the lineup for tonight?" Sam asked, trying to change topics.

"The usual," Finn opened a can of beer and gulped down half of the can. He wiped his mouth with the back of the hand. He always had to have a drink before going on stage. It calmed his nerves. "We'll sing 'California Girls' first," Finn decided. "Sam, you do the second verse."

"I thought the point of the lead singer is to sing all of the verses."

Finn didn't reply. So the guitar player was still mad about last night- he couldn't blame him. He would be pissed off too if he was in Sam's position- but he wasn't and he wished that Sam would push his frustrations aside, at least until the show was over.

This was entirely his fault, he concluded, roughly putting his suit jacket on. This was what he got for being stuck in a love-triangle that enough drama to make Hollywood jealous. The only people who seemed to be loving this were Sue and Dave- for their own selfish reasons- and the media.

"I have no problem with that," Rory replied, glancing between Sam and Finn. He let out a sigh. Rory was not going to get involved in whatever was going on between Finn and Sam. He heard bits and pieces of what might have happen- from Brittany of course- but this was not the time to ask them about anything.

Anyone with a brain could easily notice that there was some tension going on between the members of New Directions. It was nothing like how it was two years ago. Prior to 1962, the members didn't even one the others existed. Each guy came to McKinley to get a suitable music career. It was Billy who thought that Finn, Artie, Sam and Rory should become a single singing act. He appointed Finn was the leader because he was – what would be a less insulting word- a pushover.

Finn was slowly losing his control was the band leader; he was officially appointed as the lead singer by Billy- though if Rory had to be honest, Sam was the better singer. Sam was- and rightfully so- getting frustrated with Finn's drama.

"We need to get out of here before Dave blows a fuse," Finn stared at both his band mates. "Oh come on guys, lighten up. We're on in five-"

"Yes. We know," Rory replied.

Finn rubbed the back of his head. Could Rory and Sam at least make believe that they wanted to be here? Bad attitudes would make the show a disaster.

Finn patted Sam's shoulders with both hands. "Try not to be too excited."

Sam glared at Finn's retreating form and picked up his guitar. The sooner the show started, the sooner it would be over. He glanced at Rory who was quickly putting his outfit on. Dave sure chose the right night for a show- who had a show on a Tuesday night?

"Rory, we got to go!"

"Hold your horses. I'm coming, damn it!" Rory called out. He hurriedly buttoned his shirt, checked to see if his hair and everything else was fine. He couldn't look like he only took four minutes to get ready and grabbed his drumsticks.

Sam practically pushed Rory out of the dressing room, ignoring numerous insults coming from the drummer.

"It took you long enough," was the first thing Dave said when New Directions approached the stage curtains. He had his arms crossed, glowering at the four young, irresponsible men. He didn't get it. What was so hard about being on time? He didn't care for the excuses Rory and Artie gave him; he abhorred excuses. "You know the line up?" the band nodded. "Good."

Dave started complaining about how the band didn't put their hearts into the music anymore and how Sue believed that Finn and Sam were slacking in the 'dating' department and how Artie needed to get his priorities straights- which he had a point about.

Sam half-heartedly paid attention to Dave's rants. This was something he did not want to hear right before going on stage. He looked back at his band mates who had the same expression as his on their faces. Dave didn't seem to care; he kept on talking.

"You're on in five!" the show coordinate shouted from behind the stage curtains. He whispered something into the camera man's ear and rushed across the stage.

"Don't fuck this up." Was the last thing Dave Kurtosky said to his band before stomping away.

"Let's get this show on the road," Finn said, walking onto the stage, followed by the rest of New Directions. He ignored the loud shouts and screams of fans from behind the curtains.

Sam slowly walked to his floor position as the curtains opened up revealing a crowd of four hundred people, mostly young women and teenagers.

He was not in the mood to sing.

At all.

To be honest, Sam didn't want to be in the music business. He really wanted to be in professional sports, football to be more exact, playing the quarterback position. In high school, he was a star player; he was even going to get recruited to Alabama State, but then someone discovered that he had nice vocals and the rest of history.

Sam loved singing and playing the guitar but he hated everything that came with it. He shouldn't complain though, he was making more money than he could ever dream of. People, at least, fans- especially, fan girls- knew his name, but there were times- many times- when he wished he could drop everything and move back home. He couldn't do that, of course, he had a family to provide for- receiving thank you letters and phone calls from his family made all the bullshit worth it.

**To be continued…**

**Wow I updated at a reasonable time. This calls for a celebration. Thanks a bunch for everything; I hoped you enjoyed. Feel free to leave a comment. I have about a quarter of the chapter done so I will not take a month to update :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or anything that associates with the show. I also do not own any songs or magazines mentioned. Unfortunately, I am not that lucky.**

**Chapter Five**

Tina was convinced that Santana's main goal in life was to get into Noah Puckerman's pants and Brittany's skirts- and she was pretty sure that Santana wanted them in her bed at the same time.

She thought about how scandalous that would be. But then again, nothing was too scandalous for Santana.

Tina, leaning against the doorway, watched Mercedes and Santana chat with the producer. Emma was right Noah um, Puck- he liked to be referred to as Puck- and Santana's personalities matched, a little too much.

Mercedes was discussing about the Limettes new song and how they should spice it up. Apparently, she believed they sounded too generic.

Santana added her input whenever she had a chance.

Tina let out a sigh. Santana, with all of her talents, was not good at hiding her attraction to anyone. Santana most likely scared Sam away- that was why he hadn't been talking to the Limettes lately- and don't get her started with Brittany.

Puck seemed to be the only man charmed by Santana's charms. He was flirting with the Latina just as much as she did and did not mind that Santana was literally rubbing herself against him.

Tina let out another sigh. The last thing the novice group needed was to be on the front page news, not because of their musical talents but because Santana decided to have an affair with a famous producer.

Her parents would definitely not approve.

The recording session with Puck ended fifteen minutes ago. It turned out a lot better than expanded- Tina was more of a pessimist. Puck was a musical genius with a good ear and he disagreed with Will's sentiment that the Limettes should sound like every other girl group in the country. He loved Mercedes' voice, Santana dancing moves that looked more like a mating ritual to Tina than anything and Tina's calmness- she supposed that was a compliment?

"Do you really think 'Baby, I Love You' will be a hit?"

Tina shook her head. This was the eleventh time Mercedes asked this question because apparently, the other ten times were not enough. And each time, she received the same answer:

"Hell yeah. This is going to be bigger that a hit!" Puck shouted with more enthusiasm. "Number one hit!"

Okay, well he changed his worded, added more excitement though Tina didn't know if it was the thought of the Limettes being successful or the fact that Santana was looking at him with those eyes.

Santana needed to stop being so damn obvious.

"I can't wait to see Sue's face when we have the number one song," Santana said, finally letting Puck go and rubbing her hands together.

Tina lowly chuckled when Mercedes gave Santana a dirty look. Mercedes did not believe in spiting people, even those who were not fond of her, like Sue- something about bad karma.

Santana raised an eyebrow, not seeing the issue because, hello, this was Sue she was walking about. Sue was the enemy; she wanted to bring the Limettes down.

"Sue would kill you ladies if that happened," Puck commented because it was the sad truth. Sue had written him an entire manifesto about why he should refuse to work with the Limettes. Of course Puck had to decline because not only would Billy fire him, he would feel guilty for the rest of his life. The Limettes had talent and their voices should be, no, needed to be heard.

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Santana replied, placing her hands on her hips and sending everyone a menacing look. "Our number one is going to come- oh and I dare Quinn to say something smart, I will-"

Mercedes groaned. Santana had to learn how to let things go. The Quinn incident happened last week. "Santana, Quinn's not even here and you're already threatening her." She shook her head with disapproval then shifted her attention back to the producer. "Thank you so much for everything. Hopefully, everyone will think the song is as amazing as you ask."

"No problem."

Mercedes gave Puck one last smile before saying her goodbye and leading the rest of the Limettes out of the studio. Santana called out a goodbye causing her two friends to roll their eyes.

* * *

The Limettes had a three hour break before heading to the dance room. Tina and Santana offered to go to lunch at two- reasonable time- but Mercedes had to decline. It was horrible of her; she was the leader of the Limettes and that wasn't self-proclaimed either. She would be with her group most of the time but damn-

She was downright starving. She was on a diet, yeah, she was aware of that. The last time she had some grease and fat was Monday afternoon when Brittany treated the Limettes to lunch. She could deal with not eating the fried foods but there was only so much dieting she could deal with.

Shannon said she should lose forty pounds. Yes, forty pounds because apparently, Mercedes was overweight.

Mercedes would not necessarily say that she was overweight; she was just blessed with some assets that women would spend thousands of dollars to have. There was nothing wrong with losing a few pounds; she already lost three since she arrived in New York City.

Mercedes hastened her step while her stomach grumbled. This only eating a little food diet was not working for her. Her body was mad- it wouldn't allow waiting for two hours to be nourished. It demanded that she went to the cafeteria right before it opened so she would not have to face other members of the McKinley family.

Mercedes knew this was a bad idea from the start. She could feel it. She could feel it from the moment she walked out of Will's room and headed straight for the elevators. She knew she should have listened to Tina and go with her friends to get some lunch together instead of complaining that she could only live on a piece of a bagel and yogurt for so long…

Her fears were confirmed when she saw the at least person who wasn't Sue she wanted to see walking in her direction.

Mercedes cursed.

Damn it.

She did not want to deal with Sam Evans now, later on, hell, for the rest of her life. She looked around, searching for an escape route. She cursed again when she realized that no, she could not take the stairs because that was down the hall, right behind Sam and that damn infuriating smile that Mercedes wished never affected her.

Just terrific.

She was good at making sure she did not see the blonde man often, real good.

Mercedes did not want to say that she was avoiding Sam because that would not be completely true. She only made sure that she limited any interactions she had with him. Santana claimed that she was definitely avoiding Sam and she was definitely avoiding Sam and that was pathetic.

It wasn't that she did not like him. Not, it was quite the opposite and that was a problem, a very big problem because Mercedes was a rational woman and rational women did not want to jump someone's bones because they liked said someone's smile.

She could only imagine what her folks back in Lima would think.

Mercedes could not turn around and rush back into the elevators. No, that would be cowardly and Mercedes Jones did not do cowardly. If she could travel hundreds of miles away from her family, live in the largest city in the United States with extremely limited funds, not get chased out of McKinley by Sue and her minions and have a big chance of making it big, then she could certainly talk to Sam Evans without wishing that the floor beneath her would swallow her whole.

Mercedes stood up tall.

She could do this.

"And how are you, Ms. Jones?"

"I am fine, thank you." Mercedes did not, or at least try not to, convey any emotions. "And how is your day going?" She paused then frowned. "Why do you insist calling me Ms. Jones? It makes me sound old. I'm twenty-four, not fifty."

Sam wanted to laugh; he really did. But from the look on Ms. Jo- Mercy- Mercedes' face, she was dead serious. "What about Mercy?"

"How about Mercedes? That is my given name."

"Nah, everyone calls you Mercedes." He smirked; Mercedes was becoming riled up. "I like to be special; step outside the box."

"Oh you're special alright."

Sam flashed her a megawatt smile because he knew how flustered the woman in front of him got when he did so. "Thank you."

Mercedes gritted her teeth together. That man was insufferable. "It wasn't a compliment."

Sam did not look too offended. "Where are you heading?"

"Not that it is any of your business," Mercedes answered with a slight because damn it, the man made her smile too much. "But I'm headed to the cafeteria."

"What a coincidence, so was I."

Of course he was.

Mercedes thought about changing her mind. This would definitely violate her promise to herself to limit any Sam interactions- but her hunger won her over. Just because they happened to be heading to the same place did not mean she had to talk to him and-

"Come on, let's go." Sam said, disrupting Mercedes' inner monologue. "The secret is arriving there right before it opens for lunch. The food is too hot and sometimes the cooks would give you a discount."

Mercedes shrugged. There was no way getting out of this. And she was hungry, very hungry and lunched sounded very nice right now. She would only eat for ten minutes, say bye to Sam and leave. Sounds like a good idea.

The cafeteria was empty, thank god, except for a janitor who was mopping the floor in the back of the room. It was only noon; people weren't going to start showing up for another forty minutes. Sam took her wrist and led her to the food station.

Mercedes simply ignored that fact that she enjoyed having Sam's hand on her wrist. Denial was not always a horrible thing.

"It doesn't look much," Sam began as he got himself a plate and utensils. "But this place has some of the best food," He picked up another plate and handed it to Mercedes.

Mercedes stared at the plate. Sure Sam didn't think-? She groaned, of course he did. "Oh that's alright," She said, hearing her stomach betray her by rumbling. She was starving, no doubt, but she decided that she would eat later. When Sam wasn't around. "I'm not hungry."

"You're not only going to watch me eat," Sam said, placing the plate and the utensils in Mercedes' hands. He inhaled the smell of the wonderful food and smiled. "Damn, that smells good."

Mercedes looked down at the plate, grimacing. She only had twenty dollars in her wallet. The food here, no matter how good it smelled, was not free. "How much does the food cost?"

Sam gave her a weird look before putting some mashed potatoes on the plate. "Five dollars, but it's all you can eat. You can take some home if the ladies are nice." He winked at one of the cooks who waved at him.

Mercedes put the plate back and sighed dejectedly. She only had twenty dollars until the end of the next week. It was Thursday.

Sam eyed her. "What do you think you're you doing?"

"It cost five dollars..."

'"My god, Mercy." Sam reached for the plate again. "Just take the damn thing."

"Sam, I can't afford it."

"Who said you were paying?"

Oh.

"I'm not going to let you pay for my food," Mercedes snapped, feeling like a welfare recipient, asking people for money. Granted, Sam offered to pay for her meal but still. She wasn't looking for a handout.

"Mercy, I came to this city with three dollars to my name. I know how it is not to have any money until you have your big break. So can you please stop trying to convince me not to buy your meal?"

Mercedes rolled her eyes. It was no use; he was just as stubborn as her. "Fine, but this is the last time you're buying me lunch. Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Sam grinned triumphant as Mercedes's shoulders dropped in defeat. He honestly did not see the big deal; he was offering to buy her a five dollar lunch. People generally liked when others paid things for them.

He smiled again when he saw a familiar face coming out of the kitchen. "You see that lady of there?" Sam said, pointing to an older white woman at the end of the station. "Her name is Lucille but everyone calls her Ms. Lucy; she's from Georgia, the best cook in this place."

"Because she's from Georgia?"

"We southern people know how to make some good food."

"Does we include you?"

"Of course."

"Really?" Mercedes walked down the food station, glazing over all of the food. Sam was right; it looked and smelled delicious. "You shouldn't have told me that. You see, I have a weakness for Southern food. Now you have to make some for me."

"Whatever you like, Mercy," Sam replied, taking a spoonful of mash potatoes.

"Alright then, I want a three-course meal. With candy yams because I love them more than anything. For dessert, I want a red velvet cake."

"You want me to make all of that?"

"You said you know how to cook."

"Yeah, but I'm a very busy man." Sam put a piece of cornbread on Mercedes' plate, ignoring the woman next to him's protests. "I'll tell you what. I'll make some dinner before I go on tour. I can make candy yams, can't promise you the cake though. What do you say?"

"Is Sam Evans asking me out on a date?"

Sam was not expecting that question, not that he was complaining. Mercedes said the date word, not him, so maybe he if said it was, he could say that he didn't really ask her out. Mercedes put the topic on the table, not him.

It made so much sense in his mind.

Mercedes held her plate tightly. This was so embarrassing. She didn't mean to ask that. She really didn't. It just blurted out of her mouth without her brain's approval. "Forget what I said…" she mumbled, trailing off because she honestly did not know what else to say.

"Where do you want to sit?"

"Huh?" Mercedes gave him a confused look. We? What was this about 'we?' As for as she was concerned, there was no such thing as 'we.' She was going to sit in the corner, by herself, quickly eat and go take a much needed snap. She searched Sam's face, damn it, he was serious. "No, we are not sitting together."

"What-why?"

Mercedes gave him a look.

Sam groaned when he realized what she meant. "Mercy, you can't be serious…"

"My name is Mercedes, thank you," Mercedes said, taking a roll. She needed to lay off the bread but it was so soft and warm; she couldn't resist. "Don't play dumb. You know why we can't sit together. People are going to talk. News is going to reach Sue and your manager and frankly, I'm not in the mood to deal with them anytime soon."

"People'll talk no matter what you do," Sam shrugged. "So you may as well do want you want instead of trying to please everyone."

"Says the person who is fake dating a Cheerio."

"I didn't have a choice in that matter. I'm not doing this to please Sue and Dave; I'm doing this to keep their mouths shut. It's much easier that way."

As much Sam hated to admit it, Mercedes had a point. Dave was five seconds away from blowing a fuse when he found out that Sam might have a little, insignificant, not- worth- mentioning crush on the leader of the Limettes- like Sam told Finn, way too many times, crushes were harmless. He might have a stroke if he found out that Sam was sitting with Mercedes.

Granted, they were eating lunch, in a cafeteria that sadly resembled the one back in high school and in no ways was a romantic setting, but Dave, and basically everyone at McKinley, liked to blow things out of proportion.

Unfortunately for pretty much everyone, Sam was past the point of caring about what Sue and Dave thought. He was going to have a little talk with Brittany about this dating thing…

They ended sitting at the exact Mercedes wanted to sit by herself. The janitor gave them both a look. Mercedes narrowed her eyes and Sam did not notice anything. Instead, he pushed out a chair for Mercedes and sat in his own she sat down.

"How was your show Tuesday night?"

Sam put his fork down and gave her a look. "It was fine. We sounded good. Girls looked happy and Dave didn't kill us- so, it was good."

Mercedes stared at Sam longer than she would have liked. So the rumors might be true; Sam was not nearly as passionate about being a part of the New Directions- and yes, the emphasis was needed- as he should be.

"Tell me about New Directions."

Sam gave Mercedes the same look as before, debating whether or not he should honor her request. He decided to give in; she wasn't Brittany who liked to tell the entire world about everyone else's issues. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything."

"That's pretty vague."

"I'm not picky. I just want to know why Time called you guys the "The American Beatles.'"

Sam remembered reading that article. Dave made everyone in New Directions read it; the manager was so proud- like being named the American version of a British band was something to be proud of.

"Well, there are four of us. Finn's the lead singer. Artie plays the bass. Rory's at the drums and I play the guitar. Dave's our manager; you've met him."

"He has a very pleasant personality.

Sam snorted, catching Mercedes' sarcasm. Dave and Sue should elope unless the gay rumors were true. "Yeah he does, but he gets the job done. Do the Limettes have a manager that's not Emma?"

"Oh yeah, I completely forgot. Apparently, we are getting a new manager. Have no idea who the person is, though." Mercedes took a sip of her water. "Where are you from? If you don't mind me asking."

"Kentucky."

"Really?" Mercedes took another sip of water. "Never been there. The farthest South I've ever been was D.C. So you're from Tennessee you came all the way to New York, I'm pretty sure that's farther than Ohio-"

Sam shrugged. "This city has music companies."

"Why didn't you go to Memphis? Isn't Cadillac Records there? It's a hell of a lot closer."

Sam gave Mercedes a small smile. "Why didn't you do to Motown Records? Detroit's a hell of a closer to Ohio than New York."

"Shut up."

Sam laughed. "I didn't plan on becoming a singer. I like to sing and all, but I wanted to play sports. Where I'm from, they worship football. I wanted to play football for the rest of my life but Billy just happened to come to Memphis, I was there auditioning for a musical," He blushed a little when Mercedes giggled. He couldn't blame her. Not many football players would audition for a musical. "I needed the money, well my family there." He paused. "I send money back to them each month. If I can, every two weeks. My dad ain't around so I'm the breadwinner."

Mercedes couldn't keep a smile off her face. "You're switching accents."

"Dave wants me to sound normal. Not some hillbilly from the south." He shrugged, trying to hide his embarrassment. "Of course, it's not working as well as I would like. I lived in Kentucky practically all my life. My accent ain't- isn't going to go away."

"My mother used to slap me on the wrist every time I said 'ain't.'"

"You're kidding."

Mercedes let out a humorless laugh. "Ha, I wish. My parents have good jobs. They want our family to sound like we have money. So they made me and my brother take this class that teaches you 'proper English."

"How long did you take you?"

"Ten long years." Mercedes sighed as the flashbacks from those classes came to mind. "I guess they were beneficial. My parents said that I know sound like a well-raised woman from a good family."

The awkwardness dissipated as they continued talking which distressed Mercedes because that meant she was getting comfortable. Becoming comfortable was not going to do her any good especially she was wanted to limited any thoughts about Sam and his eyes and any wonders about if his lips were as soft as they appeared.

It was only a crush. Like Brittany said, everyone had crushes. Crushes were only trivial things; they never manifested into anything serious. And because of this, Mercedes was officially allowed to say that she had a crush on Sam Evans because it certainly did not mean anything.

* * *

Holly Holliday did not expect a phone call from McKinley Records. She was positive, no, she was absolutely sure, that she changed her number an address after quitting her job at that godforsaken place- everyone would that she was asked to leave her post as an assistant manager of the Warblers after she Sugar caught her sucking faces with the lead singer of the group, she still claimed that it was only a test to see if Blaine preferred his own kind over women but Billy wasn't having any of that.

The point was she was shocked as hell when one of her fellow bartenders told her that she had a call from Emma Pillsbury.

She was even more surprised when Emma relayed the message that Billy wanted to see her, in person, this afternoon. She laughed to herself as she opened the door and got out of the cab. She knew McKinley wouldn't be able to function to its full capacity without her presence. Come on, she was Holly Holliday.

She strolled into McKinley, expecting Billy to welcome her to her former home with opening arms but instead, she was met with the sight of Emma in the middle of the lobby, staring at her intently.

Well, this was disappointing. She wanted Billy to apologize for firing her.

As soon as Holly reached Emma, the vice president went down to business. She explained everything to the former assistant manager, about why she was here and what was expected of her.

"So are you telling me that I'm not here to be an assistant manager?"

Emma nodded. "Yes. Congratulations, you have been promoted to manager for our new girl group."

Holly slightly grimaced. Good news, she could stop working at the bar and getting hit on by drunkards who thought she was Grace Kelly- she didn't even want to know how they came to _that_ conclusion. Bad news, she was going to deal with Sue and her serious entitlement issues.

"You want me to be a manager- and since when do you have another girl group? Didn't Sue-,"

"This is not about Sue," Emma replied sternly. "This is about you being the Limette's new manager."

As if on cue, the Limettes walked out of the dance studio. Emma titled her head in the trio's direction. "That's them right there. I expect do things from you."

"Fine."

She winked at the Limettes before finishing her conversation with Emma. So she had to deal the new girl group. That would be easy. She glanced at the trio and said her goodbyes. "I'll talk to you later, Em. I have to introduce myself to the Limettes."

Santana suspiciously followed her every move as Holly approached them. Just who did she think she was? Walking to them as if she was some supermodel. Tina was not paying much attention and Mercedes forced a smile on her face.

"So you must be the Limettes?"

Santana crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "And who are you?"

Holly flashed the girl group a smile. "My name is Holly Holliday. I'm your new manager."

**I most likely will not be able to update until the very end of December, if I'm lucky. This is my last week of classes and the loveliness that are finals are coming up next week, so unfortunately, I have to focus on my studies.**

**Thanks for the responses etc; I love them and they make me feel better about having no life for the next two weeks. Feel free to tell me what you think.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any song that may appear in the story. I am only using them for entertainment purposes. Please do not sue; I'm a poor college student.**

**Chapter Six**

Quinn Fabray did not care about her reputation as a mean-spirited overachiever.

No, that was a lie. She did care; the thought haunted her. She would write down every bad- well, at least what she thought was bad- thing she did every night in her journal, right before she went to bed. In all honesty, the Queen Bee persona was just a persona.

Anyway-

Quin Fabray was performer; she lived for the spotlight. She craved for attention and recognition for her musical talent. She was in the business to be loved and well-known. She wanted to go inside every restaurant, store- any place and everyone would know who she was. Quinn was not dumb; she knew how competitive her job was. She knew that she had to keep giving what the company wanted to stay relevant.

She was not here to make friends; she was here to become famous and no one, not Sue, not Emma, not her band mates and certainly not the Limettes were going to stop her.

Quinn scowled. She could not believe that _that_ group managed to break the Top Ten List with _her_ song. Sue assured the Cheerios that the Limettes' new single was going to flop, not achieve early success.

This was all Puck's fault. There was no other explanation.

"I still think you so be a little nicer to the Limettes. They didn't do anything wrong."

"We are not here to play nice, Brittany," Quinn responded, putting some eyeliner on. She had a date with the one and only Finn Hudson in twenty minutes. She needed to look hot, not really for him but for the paparazzi that was sure to hunt them down. "We are in a war. We cannot let our guard down for anyone. And certainly not for them."

"They don't even sing pop," Brittany reasoned, not understanding the war reference. The only war she knew of was all the way in Vietnam. There were no guns and missiles here and she was not a soldier. "They sing black people music."

What was that genre called? The answer completely slipped out of Brittany's mind.

"I don't care if they sing folk music. Did you not see the charts? Their single debuted at number three. Three!" She crossed her arms and deepened her scowl. "They are our competition and we must not mingle with the enemy. You know Sue will not approve."

"Sue doesn't approve of anything."

"Anything that can jeopardize our music careers, dear." Quinn put the eyeliner down and reached for her mascara. She gave Brittany, who was slightly frowning, a quick glance and slammed her fits on her desk. "My God, Brittany. You don't understand, do you?"

"No. I understand perfectly." Brittany pouted, purposely ignoring her friend as she hid the spots on her forearm with powder. Quinn said she was clean; she said she was going to stop. "But that doesn't give us the right to act mean to them."

"You poor naïve soul, you'll find out soon enough." Quinn slowly smirked. Honestly, she should not worry about the Limettes. So what if their single did okay? They couldn't compete even if they had the chance. The Cheerios were on top; they owned the charts. "Anyway, you and Sam could joined Finn and I at the movies. It'll be like a double date."

Brittany rolled her eyes. Quinn couldn't be serious, right? Sure she knew that the only relationship she and Sam had was friendship- nothing more, nothing less. And from what she heard from the cafeteria lady, Sam had sights on another woman. "I'll pass. I'm going to a Broadway show with Rachel tonight. And Sam- he's busy."

Quinn narrowed her eyes. Brittany just didn't understand. She didn't understand why Brittany and Sam could never accept that they belonged with each other. They looked cute together. Two very attractive blondes- who would object to that?

"Well then," Quinn replied. "I hope you have fun watching a play. Oh and don't tell Rachel I'm with Finn tonight. It'll leave a bad taste in her mouth."

Maybe the comment was necessarily, but in Quinn's defense, Rachel Berry had a weird, borderline insane, obsession with the lead singer of New Directions. One would think that Rachel would lay off Finn after he said quite a few times, in front of other people, mind you, that they were no longer a couple. But no, she didn't.

Brittany rolled her eyes. Oh so now Quinn was teasing Rachel's love for Finn. Brittany did not approve; Quinn knew that Finn and Rachel used to date. Why would she agree with Sue to sort-of date Finn? She didn't even like the man that much- at least as much as she liked Puck.

Quinn and Finn were only going to the movies but Quinn put on one of her favorite dresses- a black and white piece- heels and a lovely pearl and diamond necklace Puck gave her for her twentieth birthday. She might be overdressing but she was Quinn, she always had to look fabulous.

She took the necklace out of its box and asked Brittany if she could assist her with putting it on. The dancer reluctantly agreed, walking behind Quinn. She took the necklace, draped it on her band mate's neck and proceeded to clasp the ends together.

Quinn watched Brittany through the mirror. She ran her fingers along the pearls, stopping at the diamond in the middle. She loved this necklace. She would wear it every day if she had the choice. If there was one thing Puck was good at besides making women drop to their knees, it was his choice of jewelry.

"Don't you find it weird that you're wearing a necklace that your ex-boyfriend gave you on a date with another guy?"

Quinn glared at Brittany. Of course she would mention this. She dropped her hands onto her lap and folded them. "Not at all. Why should I? Diamonds are a girl's best friend, dear. I should be able to wear it wherever I want."

"Oh."

"And Puck was not my boyfriend," Quinn insisted in a harsh voice, reaching out for her pearl earrings. She was thinking about wearing her diamond ones- another gift from Puck- but decided that she was only going to the movies. Maybe more diamonds would be a bit much. "We had a fling and that was all."

"That lasted over a year and a half. He bought you more than two million dollars' worth of jewelry," Brittany reminded, not believing her band mate. "He asked you to marry him- he got you pregnant for heaven's sake."

Quinn harshly grabbed Brittany's wrist. "Don't you dare talk to me about that ever again," She snapped, finally letting Brittany go after a few seconds. She and Puck only had a fling. Quinn was feeling like a prude and she needed someone to satisfy her. Puck was the perfect candidate; it was not her fault that Puck wanted to be all emotional with her. She didn't ask for it. She only wanted his body, not his heart.

She would never admit that she would yes if Puck asked her to marry him again.

"Are you done with the necklace?"

"Yes."

"Then leave. I need to finish getting ready. I cannot leave Finn waiting."

* * *

Holly called for a mini-meeting with the Limettes. She wanted to congratulate them on their early success. She could not believe her eyes when she saw the weekly charts listing. She expected 'Baby, I Love You' to break number ten but not actually get number three- and there was a chance that the single could jump to number one.

As expected, not everyone was thrilled about 'Baby, I Love You' reaching that high. Sue looked like she was going to have an aneurysm this morning and Dave was equally unhappy; Holly didn't understand why he was so mad, the Limettes was a female group, not a male one.

(Earlier this morning, Kurt told her that Dave was more mad about the rumors that might not be rumors about him kissing Kurt than the Limettes' success. Holly did not know what to believe).

Holly took out her nail file and started on her nails. "It is highly advisable that you stay as far away from Sue as you possibly can," she said as she began filing her thumbnail. "I thought she was going to detonate when she saw the weekly charts."

"Well, we did do better than everyone thought we would do," Mercedes replied, giving Tina and Santana wary looks. She was not scared of Sue, well not really. And it served her right for taunting the Limettes. "She's only jealous."

Santana rolled her eyes. She could not give a damn if Sue's heart was broken. She was getting on her nerves and she wished she had woken a few minutes earlier to see the Cheerios' manager face. She would have gotten a camera, take a photo, frame it and hang it in her bedroom. It would have been priceless for sure.

"We didn't hit number one," Tina mumbled; she should be grateful. Now, she could call her family without them complaining about how she was a failure of a daughter. But she really wanted that number one spot- then she parents could not say a thing.

"You'll get there." Holly assured, sighing. She hoped her group listened to her advice. Sue might actually kill them. She glanced at the newspaper, showing the weekly charts. Considering everything, number three was a good debut. "Just stay away from her. I don't want to deal with her unless I have no other choice."

"I don't blame you."

"Thanks to your early success, you will be touring with a bunch of other McKinley groups. You'll be performing 'Baby, I Love You' and another single that you have to work out with Puck by the end of the week."

The Limettes gasped.

"Yes, I know. I wasn't expecting this either. But you should be proud of yourself," Holly said, trying not to laugh at the girl group's facial expressions. "I'll let you know the finalized details the day after tomorrow."

Holly dismissed the Limettes. As the girl began to leave, Holly sat up her seat. Oh my, how could she forget? She called out. "Mercedes, can you stay back?"

Mercedes froze and turned around. She gave her manager a puzzled look then look back at her band mates who gave her alarmed looks. she gulped and sat back down.

Holly waved goodbye at Santana and Tina. "Don't worry you're not in trouble," she assured. "At least not yet."

Mercedes looked even more puzzled. She was sure she didn't do anything wrong; she would not do anything that would jeopardize her music career. Mercedes was not going back to Ohio. "What did I do?"

Holly gave Mercedes a look. She took a muffin from the breadbasket and split in half with a knife. "I heard from a very reliable source that you are becoming well aquatinted with a certain member of New Directions. If you get my drift."

Mercedes' expression turned from confusion to pure horror. This was not happening. Not now. She bit her lip and slid down her chair. She knew she should have said no when Sam offered to take her out to eat _again_. "There is nothing going between me and Sam. We're just friends."

She wasn't lying. Sam asked her a few times- four to be exact- to take her on a real date, but Mercedes declined each time. It wasn't that she would mind, she wanted to avoid this very problem.

"I like I haven't heard that one before…"

"I'm serious."

"So am I." Holly sighed. She didn't want to sound like some racist bigot who had an issue with two people from two different races talking to each other. She wanted to laugh; from the way her source explained it, it seemed that Mercedes' and Sam's relationship had passed the friendship stage. "Look, I can personally careless about what you do with that boy but the public does not feel that way. And the last thing you want is to mess up your career because of controversy."

"Are you suggesting that I stop hanging out with him?"

Holly gave Mercedes a long look. Mercedes was a smart woman; she knew she was. Surely, Mercedes could see the whole issue with messing around with Sam. Interracial whatever- was not accepted. The public would throw a hissy fit and the media would have a field day.

"I would but I you know young people. You never listen to adults until it's too let." She bit off a piece of her muffin. "Just be careful. Sue's really going to blow a fuse if she finds out that you're messing up her master match making plan."

"Yeah, I heard…" Mercedes muttered. "Brittany and Sam don't even like each other that way. Are you that afraid of Sue?"

"That's another problem." Holly rolled her eyes. "No, I am not scared of Sue Sylvester. I don't want to deal with her. I have enough things on my plate."

"Oh."

"There is a big chance that New Directions and the Cheerios will be touring with us," She continued as Mercedes stared at her surprised. "I don't know how Billy convinced Sue and Dave to agree, but that's another story. Try to keep your interactions with Sam to a minimum.

"I don't know why you're telling me this. I'm good at avoiding Sam, however I can't say that same way for him."

Holly ate the rest of the muffin before rising from her seat. "Well, I guess you have to tell Sam what I told you." She gave Mercedes a shrug before leaving.

Mercedes got up from her seat and headed out of the lounge. She needed to have a long chat with Sam; a very long one. She needed to get it through his thick mind that they were not together.

"What did Holliday say?" was the first thing Santana asked Mercedes when her band mates slowly entered the cafeteria. The Limettes' plan was to have a quick lunch and explore downtown Manhattan; thanks to their success on the charts, Holly gave them the day off.

Tina stopped eating her sandwich to listen to the answer. Mercedes looked a little frustrated. She hoped Holly did not tell her bad news.

Mercedes sat down between Santana and Tina then gave them a small smile. "It wasn't anything bad. Apparently, everyone in McKinley, besides a selected few, thinks Sam and I are dating."

Tina and Santana looked at each other then at Mercedes.

"Pardon?"

Mercedes groaned. She did not want to talk about it. She reached from Santana's frown and ignored the Latina's protest. Santana stole her fries all the time. Anyway, she was stressed; she needed some grease. "Holly gave me about a lecture about how spending time with Sam was bad for publicity."

"Well duh, I could have told you that."

Mercedes sent Tina a look. She did not need to hear that now. "Really, Tina, really?'

Tina shrugged.

"I don't see a problem with you and Sam."

Of course Santana didn't. She could care less what people thought about her.

"The problem is that we're friends. You know, friends? There's nothing going on between yes," Mercedes frowned, chewing on more fries, "If people are going to spread humors could it least be true?"

"It's not exactly a lie…" Tina commented under her breath. She gave Mercedes a nervous smile when she glared at her. "Sorry. I wasn't supposed to say that…"

"I think you two should do something about whatever you are," Santana stated, completely ignoring everything Mercedes just said. "Then "And then your mama can finally stop pestering you about settling down. Because I am tired of hearing 'why don't you get married?' from her and she's not even my mama."

"Marriage?" Mercedes, exclaimed getting up from her seat and putting her hands on her hips. "Santana, are you crazy?"

Santana shrugged; she had been called worse.

"You do you know that he is white...right?" Tina mumbled. "I'm pretty sure that meeting will go over well. Oh I can see it now. I think we need a film crew just to tape the priceless look on Mercedes' mother's face. Hey, she may actually die from a heart attack."

"Tina."

"I'm kidding."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, true but he's rich and famous. Talk about financial security."

"I cannot believe what I am hearing."

"Look," Santana said, shrugging because according to her, there was nothing wrong with planning the future. "I don't know what your problem is. He's hot. He thinks you're cute and you need some loving. So instead of running away like your thirteen again, you better get on that before some white chick does."

"According to everyone, Brittany is Sam's girlfriend."

Santana brushed off Tina's comment. She didn't have time to worry about what everyone else claimed. "That doesn't count. They're only together because their managers have serious issues."

"Can you imagine if this leaks into the public?" Tina said, feeling anxious all over again. "The media and your mama will freak out and we can kiss our record deal goodbye."

"I don't think it's that drastic?"

Mercedes frowned at Santana. "Apparently, you are not aware of this country's racial relations." She sighed. "I'm going to talk to Sam. I don't want to create any drama. We've only been in this city for a little over a month; I want to enjoy my time here. If Holly and everyone do not want me and Sam to be friends, then fine."

Tina stared at her, wide eyed. That wasn't what she meant. She finished chewing her meal before saying, "I think we need to focus on our music careers before going down the road of love. We don't even have an album yet."

"Can I get an amen?"

Santana rolled her eyes. Mercedes always had to be melodramatic over everything.

**To be continued….**


End file.
